Death of William Barker 'accidental'

An inquest into the death of William Ernest barker, 68, from Milnrow, who died in May last year, has concluded that his death was accidental and caused by a number of factors.

Mr Barker died in Oswestry town centre, Shropshire on 27 May 2014 after a barrier came loose and entered his cab.

At the time of the accident, Mr Barker was delivering goods to the town’s Argos store.

The inquest heard that Mr Barker died of crush injuries and traumatic asphyxia due to the wing mirror of his vehicle coming into contact with the defective and ineffectively secured barrier at the car park.

An investigation into the accident found that the wing mirror of the lorry driven by Mr Barker had caught the end of the barrier and pulled it towards the cab.
At the time of the accident, the vehicle was travelling at no more than 3mph.

The barrier had previously been identified in the risk assessment plan for the site prepared by Mr Barker’s employees, Wincanton.

During the inquest on Wednesday (15 April), it was heard how delivery driver Rodney Paragreen tried to rescue Mr Barker from the lorry.

Mr Paragreen was unloading his lorry at a nearby M&S store when the accident happened.

The Health and Safety Executive is currently investigating the incident.

http://rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/87469/lorry-driver-dies-in-accident