Tributes paid as woman who died from mystery injuries named as Tracey Bratby
Tributes have been paid to a woman died after being found seriously injured in the road outside her home.
The victim, who has been named locally as 55-year-old grandmother Tracey Bratby, was discovered yards from her semi-detached home in Hednesford in the early hours of Saturday.
Police say it is still not known how she came by her injuries.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident at 3.40am in Belt Road, at the back of Hednesford Valley High School, in High Town.
Interactive map of the area:
She was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham but died there in the early hours of Sunday.
Tributes have been paid to the mother-of-three by her family and also members of the community where she had lived for many years.
Staffordshire Police have renewed an appeal for information, and particularly any dash-cam or CCTV footage that may shine a light on what happened.
A force spokesman said: "Detectives are still investigating the circumstances around her death which are not yet understood."
One of the leads being investigated is that Mrs Bratby was the victim of a hit-and-run collision.
Belt Road is a long straight residential road more than half a mile long, stretching from Church Hill to the junction with Pye Green Road, with speed bumps along its length. The victim's house was on the brow of a hill.
A resident saw paramedics working at the scene and go into the victim's home address but did not realise her long-time neighbour was involved.
'Everyone knew her'
Residents have expressed shock at her death.
A local shopkeeper described her as a larger than life character who had a big presence.
"Everyone knew her. She was full of life and always had a big greeting for me. She could be a bit over the top in her ways, but was lovely with it, that was Tracey.
"She loved cooking, especially for her grandchildren, and would come in here three or four times a week to shop.
"She would bring a big bag and go round the shelves putting groceries inside, then come to the counter and call out the prices to me. She was an honest person, I trusted her.
"If she ever missed something she would tell me the next time she came in and pay for it then.
"She loved gardening and was always digging and mowing her lawn. I'm so sad to hear what has happened, she was a lovely woman."
The victim lived with her husband, a motorcycle mechanic, and their pet dog.
Anyone with any information or footage from the scene is asked to call 101 referring to incident 128 of August 17.
