Sunday, February 24, 2008

Runaway trailer tragedy petition

Published Date: 10 January 2008
Source: DT Mid Edition
Location: Chesterfield

Runaway trailer tragedy petition

By Staff Copy

Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for a change in the law following the death of a little boy who was hit by a runaway trailer.

The parents of four-year-old Finlay Martin of Old Road, Heage, who died in July last year, are among about 300 people who have put their names to the on-line petition.

The petition calls on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to introduce an annual compulsory MoT for all trailers, including caravans and horse boxes, and to make it compulsory for trailers to be fitted with a cable which could activate an emergency braking system if a trailer breaks free.

Absolute hell

The campaign has been launched by mother-of-three Juliette Blake, a member of Amber Valley Borough Council and leader of Ripley Town Council, who says she has found numerous examples of deaths and injuries being caused by breakaway trailers.

She said: “Never a day goes by without me thinking of that poor family. They must be going through absolute hell and they’ll never get over it.

“I feel I have got to do something positive to help them. It’s an uphill battle but it would be fantastic if we could get the law changed.

“It is just so sad that a tragedy like this has to happen to bring it to people’s attention.”

At an inquest into Finlay’s death at Derby, on Thursday, deputy coroner Louise Pinder said that she intended to write to the Department of Transport passing on the family’s concerns in the hope that lessons could be learned from the tragic accident.

She recorded a narrative verdict – a factual account of Finlay’s death.

The full article contains 287 words and appears in DT Mid Edition newspaper.

Last Updated: 09 January 2008 9:46 AM

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MP Judy calls for trailer tests

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Published Date: 01 February 2008
Source: Alfreton Chad
Location: Mansfield

By Helen Lambourne

AMBER Valley MP Judy Mallaber has secured a pledge from a Government Minister to consider new regulations on trailers after the tragic death of a young boy.

Four-year-old Finlay Martin, from Heage in Derbyshire, was killed in July last year by a runaway trailer which had broken free from a car and a coroner ruled it was defective.

In the House of Commons last week, Ms Mallaber called on Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick to investigate bringing in an annual mandatory test for trailers – as requested by Finlay's family and local residents.

Mr Fitzpatrick said there had been several similar accidents in recent months and he vowed to consider the matter with officials in the Department for Transport.

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The full article contains 135 words and appears in Alfreton Chad newspaper.

Last Updated: 31 January 2008 10:26 AM

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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The government has got blood on its hands "

Sentences criticised after toddler death

"The government has got blood on its hands "

Cllr Juliette Blake

Sentences handed to two men involved in an accident which resulted in the death of toddler after a trailer broke loose while being towed by a car have been criticised for being 'too lenient'.

Two men have been fined and had points put on their driving licence after the death of four-year-old Finlay Martin in Heage.

Finlay died when he was struck by a trailer that had come loose from a car on Old Road in Heage in June.

His mother, Zoe, was also hit by the trailer and spent weeks in hospital.

The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the case in light of a coroner's verdict at an inquest into the youngster's death last month when it was revealed the trailer's brakes had been defective and no breakaway cable was fitted.

The driver of the car towing the trailer, David Robins, of Belper, pleaded guilty on February 13 at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court to using a motor vehicle when the secondary coupling device on the trailer was not fitted and to using a motor vehicle namely the trailer, with defective brakes.

He was fined £500 and given three penalty points on his licence. He was also ordered to pay £45 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Owner of the trailer Michael Buckley was also given a £500 fine, three points on his licence and the additional fees after pleading guilty to permitting the use of such a vehicle.

After the case Amber Valley borough councillor Juliette Blake, who represents Heage and is leading a campaign to tighten regulations on the use of trailers, said the sentences were lenient considering a child had died.

Cllr Blake said: "It's nothing considering a child has died. I was nearly in tears when I heard. If it was my child I would be gutted at these sentences. The family's lives have been wrecked by this.

"Since Finlay was killed there have been numerous other accidents involving trailers.

"The government has got blood on its hands as far as I'm concerned until it brings in legislation to stop this. Are they waiting for a larger accident where 60 people are killed?

"They won't bring in legislation without public pressure but while it's just one death here and there, there doesn't seem to be a concerted effort to bring public attention to it.

"There is a serious problem in this country with trailers, I see some horrific ones driving around and there are very few laws governing their use.

"We have an annual MOT test for cars, so you know that every car has been seen and checked in the last 12 months. There's nothing like that for trailers and there should be, they should be checked for road worthiness every year."

The full article contains 467 words and appears in n/a newspaper.

Last Updated: 20 February 2008 2:29 PM

Monday, February 18, 2008

Driver crippled in freak accident

A LORRY driver crippled when a freak runaway trailer collided head-on with his cab near Howden told a jury of the moment he thought he was going to die.

Father-of-three Clive Wade (44), said he could see he was on a collision course when a trailer owned by Hutton Cranswick licensee Clive Tomlinson appeared in front of his milk wagon.

Mr Wade of Holme-upon-Spalding Moor had to be airlifted from the horrific smash on the A614 on Thorpe Road, near Hygena. He suffered serious injuries including several broken bones to his legs. He needed surgery at Hull Royal Infirmary after the smash and now is unable to work and walks only with crutches.

He had been returning from Bristol to the village with an empty wagon after delivering condensed milk when the crash happened. His cab was hit by a breakaway trailer loaded with a mobile bar and marquee.

Giving evidence in a written statement at the start of a trial at Hull Crown Court Mr Wade said: "I could see I was on a collision course. The trailer was hurtling out of control towards me. I took hold of the steering wheel as hard as a could as the only place to go was to the left. I didn't try and turn too fast as the vehicle could have jack-knifed. I thought I was going to be killed. I heard a loud crunch."

Mr Wade, formerly of Wilson Close, Market Weighton, sat in court with his family as the statement was read. The court heard he still had two 13-year-old twins to support and had worked for the same dairy firm in for 21 years.

The driver of the Iveco van, Simon Saxby (46), pleaded guilty to driving a van dangerously on September 21, 2006.

Mr Saxby of Past Heap Farm, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, told the jury he had had begun work for Mr Tomlinson in May, 2006 in the bar tent business and had no experience of towing a trailer or instruction "whatsoever".

He had been due to set up a bar and tent in a marquee in Derbyshire on the day as part of a nationwide mobile bar business. The court heard the firm had seven vans and four trailers and the drivers never knew which combination they would be taking out. He said he had been staying at the White Horse Inn at Hutton Cranswick at the time and the trailer had been loaded up for him before he set off. He said: "I didn't do my job correctly that day. I didn't do what I should have done. I am very very sorry about what happened. I had no training. I didn't know there wasn't a breakaway cable."

Crown barrister David Hall told the jury Mr Wade had done everything possible to avoid the collision and was in no way to blame. Mr Hall told the jury the accident happened when nuts and bolts sheared on the back of a tow bar, which broke away from a blue Iveco van towing a trailer. He said police had found there was wear and tear on the tow bar and lack of a breakaway cable. He said other issues to consider were a seized load sensor valve, defective hand-brake, overloading and a problem offside brake caliper. He said the tow-bar defects should have been spotted by Mr Saxby before he set off if he had been a careful and competent driver.

Clive Tomlinson (47) had denied any wrong doing. A jury was instructed to find him not guilty of the charge of aiding and abetting a van and trailer to be driven dangerously on the third day of a scheduled four-day trial. He was not in the van and denied knowing it was a danger.

Mr Saxby is due to be sentenced in around four weeks time and was allowed to walk free from court on bail.

Published on 14th February 2008 in News.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Runaway trailer tragedy petition

By Staff Copy

Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for a change in the law following the death of a little boy who was hit by a runaway trailer.

The full article contains 287 words and appears in DT Mid Edition newspaper.

Last Updated: 09 January 2008 9:46 AM

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Friday, February 8, 2008

Woman, 85, 'killed by dangerous trailer'

Feb 5 2008 icWales

An elderly woman died when a trailer came loose and hit the car she was in, a court heard today.

Timothy Rose, 49, was towing the trailer on his Land Rover down a hill when it became detached and swung into the road, where it collided with a Vauxhall Corsa travelling uphill.

Elizabeth Roberts, 85, was the nearside passenger in the car driven by her son-in-law Paul Llewellyn, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Hywel Hughes, prosecuting, said: “Glass was flying everywhere, there were scenes of chaos and confusion after the impact. It became clear Mrs Roberts was injured very seriously.

“She died at the scene despite valiant efforts by paramedics and a doctor.”

Mr Hughes said the trailer was in a bad condition – on three of its four wheels the brakes were defective. He said the ball fitting on the Land Rover and socket fitting on the trailer were different sizes.

Rose, of Elizabeth Avenue, Barry, pleaded not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a previous hearing, also at Cardiff Crown Court.

In a statement read out in court, he said: “The trailer started to fishtail. As I looked back in horror, I saw the trailer, instead of being behind me it was beside me but there was nothing I could do.”

The court heard Rose had a routine check ’“once in a while” and did the maintenance himself.

Hayley Griffiths was driving behind Rose at the time of the incident on Pentyrch Hill in Cardiff on March 9 last year.

She said: “At the top of the hill I noticed the trailer started to bounce from side to side.

“I wanted to get away from the trailer so I tried to slow down.”

She said she did not see any brake lights come on on the trailer.

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Trailer crash victim describes impact

Feb 6 2008 icWales

A driver today described the aftermath of a crash in which a trailer came loose and smashed into his car, killing his elderly mother-in-law.

Paul Llewellyn was driving Elizabeth Roberts to his home in Peterstone, south Wales, when a trailer became detached from the Land Rover of Timothy Rose, and was in collision with their Vauxhall Corsa.

Mrs Roberts, 84, died at the scene.

Rose, 49, of Elizabeth Avenue, Barry, south Wales, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Hywel Hughes, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court that Mr Llewellyn picked up his mother-in-law at 4pm on March 9 last year and they went to collect his wife at 4.30pm.

Describing the aftermath of the incident, Mr Llewellyn said: “I was pretty stunned. I looked at Bet (Elizabeth Roberts) next to me. She was sat upright and I thought she was okay.

“I turned around and my wife seemed unconscious. I started shouting to her and she sat up and said ’what’s happened?’

“Then, after the second impact my wife was sat up but when I looked at Bet she was slumped down. Then they dragged me out of the side window.”

Peter Davies, defending, read a statement by Mr Llewellyn from April 11, 2007.

In it, Mr Llewellyn said: “I saw the trailer coming down the hill. It wobbled but I didn’t worry too much about it or brake.

“When we collided it felt like we went up in the air. The impact was so bad I thought my brain had come out of my head.”

The court heard from Police Constable Simon Rogers, the accident investigator at the scene, who concluded that the safety chain on the trailer had snapped.

Judge Patrick Curran QC adjourned the trial until tomorrow.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Clacton: Woman hurt in runaway trailer crash

Clacton: Woman hurt in runaway trailer crash
By James Dwan

A woman was taken to hospital after a runaway trailer was in a collision with a car on a busy road.

The passenger in the four-wheel-drive Suzuki Wagon suffered injuries to her neck and back, as well as breathing problems, after it was in a collision with the trailer of an Iveco van in Clacton.

Police, ambulance crews and firefighters were called to the accident in London Road.
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The street was closed for more than 45 minutes amid fears that cylinders in the van, being used by road resurfacers, could explode.

A spokesman for Clacton fire station said the woman passenger, in her mid-50s, suffered slight injuries to her chest from the seatbelt.

The spokesman believed the trailer had become unhooked from the van and veered into the path of the oncoming vehicle.

Anyone with information about the incident, at 11.40am yesterday, should call PC Darren Lee at Stanway road policing unit on 01206 762512.

Passer-by killed by trailer’s swinging side panel in Wrexham

Oct 16 2007 by Steve Bagnall, Daily Post

A MOTORIST whose trailer hit and fatally injured a pedestrian yesterday went on trial for causing death by dangerous driving.

Mold Crown Court heard how a man was struck by the side panel of the trailer which swung open as it was being towed on Wrexham industrial estate.

Victim Damon Harry Palmer was thrown up into the air by the impact.

Mr Palmer, 57, from Stoke-on-Trent, a team leader with an insulation company, had driven to the industrial estate for a training day.

He had just arrived but as he parked his car in Abbey Road and got out, he was struck by the side panel of the twin axle Ivor Williams trailer being towed by a Chrysler Voyager driven by OIiver.

The accident left him with “serious and unsurvivable head injuries” in a pool of blood and he died a short time later in hospital.

Driver Rupert Oliver, 66, an inventor and former Wrexham businessman, now of The Residence at Kenchester near Hereford, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Prosecuting barrister Simon Medland told a jury at Mold Crown Court that the side mesh panel of the trailer opened up like a substantial door.

The defendant was oblivious to the opening and closing of the panel on the trailer behind him, pulled out to overtake, and the panel came into contact with Mr Palmer’s head “causing appalling injuries.”

He was spun into the air, dropped to the road unconscious, and died half an hour later in hospital despite efforts to save him.

Mr Medland told the jury that there was no criticism of the defendant’s actual driving, but he was driving a dangerous vehicle – a trailer which had a substantial panel flapping about.

It was the prosecution case that the trailer should have been properly checked before the journey began a short time earlier, or at least he should have seen the side-panel flapping about before the fatal collision occurred.

As well as hitting Mr Palmer, the side panel rode up his blue Rover car, shunting it forward, and causing a passenger in the car to suffer a head injury.

Oliver claimed that he checked the trailer about two hours before he drove from his former company, SPI, on the Spectrum Industrial Estate.

An inventor who has spent a lifetime designing children’s play equipment, had been removing his experimental children’s play kit from a yard in Denbigh which was being closed down.

The previous night he took a load from Denbigh to SPI to store the items there. He left the vehicle and trailer overnight.

The following morning he had driven just half a mile intending to return to Denbigh when the accident occurred.

In a police interview, he said it was the most horrible thing that had ever happened to him, and he felt awful.

He said that he had driven for 50 years, was experienced in towing trailers, and always checked everything.

Forensic vehicle examiner Gary Roberts said in his view the two spring pins on the front edge of the side panel were not in place.

Defending barrister Stuart Driver said it was accepted that the bottom pin was not in place but suggested that the top one was, but that it was not properly secured by the spring.

The trial before Judge John Rogers QC is proceeding.

welshnews

Woman, 85, 'killed by dangerous trailer