Rebecca Maher inquest: death in custody could have been prevented if police called ambulance

Coroner finds 36-year-old Aboriginal woman who was arrested for public intoxication should have been taken to hospital

The death of an Aboriginal woman in custody in 2016 could have been prevented if police had called an ambulance or conducted more thorough searches while she was in custody, the state's coroner has found.

Rebecca Maher, 36, was found dead inside a police cell at the Maitland police station in the NSW Hunter region just before 6am on 19 July 2016, about five hours after being taken into protective custody because she appeared intoxicated and had wandered into oncoming traffic.