Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Caravan ploughs into new vehicle

By Telegraph newsdesk

A RUNAWAY caravan collided with a parked car in an early-hours accident.

The caravan broke free and rolled into a nearly-new Toyota Yaris in Craven Street, Barnoldswick, on Saturday.

Police said they did not believe the incident to be a prank or act of sabotage and that the caravan appeared to have come loose from the rear of a car, but the accident could leave the damaged car's owners with a big repair bill as the owner of the caravan has not been traced.

The matter has now been referred to Pendle Council, which will remove the caravan if it is causing a nuisance for residents, but police asked anyone who could identify the caravan's owner to come forward.

11:08am Thursday 11th January 2007

Woman's face smashed in loose trailer horror

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Monday 27th Jul 1998.

SURGEONS spent five hours rebuilding a young woman's jaw yesterday after it was smashed by a runaway trailer. Suzanne Middlefell's face was badly cut and her jaw bone broken in two places when a box trailer broke free from the car towing it in Market Street, Little Lever on Saturday evening and mounted the pavement. Suzanne, 22, of Heaton Avenue, Little Lever had been on her way to visit an ill friend and was walking along the pavement when the accident happened.

Her parents, Eileen and David, knew nothing about the accident until they returned home last night from a weekend break to celebrate Eileen's birthday.

Suzanne, a telephone customer services operator, had been taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital and then transferred to Blackburn Royal Infirmary for surgery and they hurried to her bedside.

Mr Middlefell said: "The trailer hit her from behind so she doesn't know what happened. She said she thought she was going to die and she could have been killed."

Her mum added: "She certainly had her guardian angel looking after her."

Despite her injuries, her parents say Suzanne, who is a youth leader at St Andrew's Church, Radcliffe, is in remarkably good spirits.

Suzanne's parents also want to thank a man who rushed to help her immediately after the accident at 8.15pm on Saturday night and kept her calm until help arrived.

Police are investigating how the trailer, pulled by a Cavalier driven by Anthony Barnes, aged 31, of Grange Avenue, Little Lever, came to break free.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.

Archive Home

From the Bolton Evening News
http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk
© Newsquest Media Group 1998

ACTION PLAN FOR DANGER ROUTE; 68 collisions

ACTION PLAN FOR DANGER ROUTE; 68 collisions in two years prompt safety measures.(News)

From:: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)
Date:: August 6, 2007
More results for:: loose trailer publication:["Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)"]

Byline: By Michael Corley

ONE of Warwickshire's most dangerous roads is to undergo a raft of safety improvements in an effort to cut casualties.

Road safety chiefs have targeted the A428 Hillmorton Road in Rugby - the scene of 68 collisions from 2004 to 2006 - which ranks high in the county council's league of most dangerous roads.

They have already started similar action in Myton Road, which links Warwick and Leamington.

The speed limit in Myton Road - which is lined with schools, houses and the entrance to a park - has been slashed from 40mph to 30mph.

Pedestrian refuges have been installed in the centre of the road and vehicle-activated speed signs are due to be installed in September.

Myton Road, like Hillmorton Road, has a poor accident record - there have been 16 accidents in the past three years, resulting in 18 casualties on the busy school run and commuter route.

In one of the most recent in June, a motorcyclist broke both wrists and a knee after colliding with a trailer which came loose from a van.

The new limit has been introduced from the junction with Banbury Road to the Ford Foundry roundabout in Leamington.

Cllr Marion Haywood, who represents Warwick South on Warwickshire County Council, said she hoped the work in Myton Road would reduce the number of accidents.

She said: "I am very pleased to see that the road safety engineering team have investigated the road.

"As there are a number of schools on this road it seems very appropriate to have a 30mph speed limit."

Senior road safety engineer Jo Edwards said the latest action was taken in the road after it was identified as a risk to motorists and pedestrians by Warwickshire County Council's road safety engineering team.

Road chiefs have said the improvements for Hillmorton Road will take place next year, after a public consultation has taken place.

They are due to be completed by April.

CAPTION(S):

MR030807ROAD2 SLOW DOWN... Warwickshire County Council's senior road safety engineer Jo Edwards and Cllr Martin Heatley, cabinet member for environment, in Myton Road, Warwick, where the speed limit has been slashed from 40mph to 30mph in an effort to reduce accidents. Picture: Mark Radford

Runaway trailer death woman named

Police have identified a woman who was killed when a trailer separated from a vehicle and hit a group of people.

Sarah Damen, 37, was walking on the pavement in Bere Regis in Dorset on Friday when the crash happened.

Mrs Damen, a mother of three young children aged five, four and two, died at the scene.

Another woman, Suzanne Gee, and her daughter, Rebekah, three, are recovering from their injuries. The driver was arrested and bailed.

The 44-year-old man, from Wareham, had been arrested in suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

A red Land Rover had been travelling along the C6 Southbrook road to Wool in the village when its trailer detached, ploughing into the group.

Mrs Damen's children and her 44-year-old husband, Mark, have been comforted by relatives.

Monday, January 7, 2008

BOY OF 5 CRUSHED BY RUNAWAY SPEEDBOAT; Horror at the harbourside.(

BOY OF 5 CRUSHED BY RUNAWAY SPEEDBOAT; Horror at the harbourside.(News)

From:: The Mirror (London, England)
Date:: June 15, 2004
More results for:: runaway trailer

Byline: RICHARD SMITH

A BOY of five has been crushed to death by a speedboat.

Piran Osborne was sitting on the edge of a harbour ramp when a 15ft craft being towed up it broke free and crashed back into him.

By the time yachtsmen hauled the boat off him he was already dead.

Piran's eight-year-old brother, who was sitting with him on the slipway, was slightly injured.

Sailor Sian Brown was alerted by shrieks from the boys' mother.

Sian, 61, said yesterday: "We saw people already running to the slipway. You could tell it was serious.

"It was the mother screaming - it was dreadful to hear. Then people stopped and it went quiet. Nobody was running to the boats to get help.

"That's when it became apparent there was nothing anybody could do.

"I saw a young man and an old man sobbing. It's the most terrible tragedy."

The boys, from St Newlyn East, Cornwall, had their legs dangling over the side of the slipway when the boat, mounted on a trailer, hit them.

One yachtsman who saw the tragedy in Mylor, Cornwall, said: "The trailer

came away from the towing vehicle and careered down the slipway. It ploughed straight into him and knocked him off the slipway.

"We simply couldn't believe what we were seeing."

Steve Nicholls of Mylor Yacht Club told how one witness raced in to raise the alarm on Sunday evening.

He said: "This chap came in screaming for a doctor and said there had been a serious accident." Yachtsmen with first aid training then raced to help.

Steve added: "They found the child under a speedboat. When they got it off him he was very seriously injured. There was nothing they could do."

Fisherman Frank Vinnicombe, 81, claimed locals had been worried about the slipway because the public could use it unsupervised.

And he revealed: "Eight weeks ago I saw exactly the same thing, although that time no-one was hurt."

Police and health and safety chiefs are investigating.

Harbour owner Roger Graffy declined to comment.

CAPTION(S):

Girls hit by trailer.(News)

From:: Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England)
Date:: September 19, 2004
More results for:: runaway trailer

TWO teenage girls were recovering in hospital last night after they were hit by a runaway council trailer on their way home from school.

The 14 year-olds had been walking to a friend's house when they were hit by a county council mobile display unit.

The trailer became detached from a Ford Transit van which was towing it, veered across a pavement and rolled down a grass verge before trapping the pair beneath it.

One girl was released before emergency services arrived in Lane Green Road, Codsall, after the accident at 3.40pm on Friday.

The second teenager suffered head, leg and arm injuries and was taken to New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, by helicopter. Her friend suffered minor head injuries.

Last night Staffordshire Police said both girls were recovering in hospital and neither had suffered life-threatening injuries.

Girls trapped by trailer.(News)

From:: Birmingham Evening Mail (England)
Date:: September 18, 2004
More results for:: runaway trailer

Byline: STEVE JOHNSON

TWO teenage girls were recovering in hospital today after becoming trapped under a runaway trailer on their way home from school.

The pair were walking to a friend's house just outside Wolverhampton when they were hit by a mobile display unit being towed by a Ford Transit van.

The trailer became detached, veered across the pavement and rolled across a grass verge, pinning the two 14-yearolds underneath.

One girl was released before emergency services arrived, following the accident in Lane Green Road, Codsall, South Staffordshire, at 3.40pm yesterday.

The second remained trapped and police officers and fire crews worked to lift the trailer and dig out earth from around her so paramedics could get in to help. She was taken by helicopter to New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, with head, leg and arm injuries.

Her friend had head injuries.

Staffordshire Police said none of the injuries was thought to be serious or life-threatening.

Teenager died as he tried to stop runaway lorry

Teenager died as he tried to stop runaway lorry.(News)

From:: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)
Date:: April 16, 2004
More results for:: runaway trailer

A teenager was crushed to death as he tried to stop a runaway lorry.

Justin Bevan, 17, was helping his elder brother unload a trailer when the lorry started to roll down a steep hill.

Justin ran alongside the lorry trying to get into the cab - but was crushed as it collided with another lorry parked at the roadside.

An inquest heard yesterday that defective brakes on the lorry meant it was a 'ticking bomb'. Its trailer had no brakes at all.

The lorry had been borrowed by construction worker Simon Bevan to move a digger.

Department of Transport vehicle examiner Christopher Ennea said, 'The vehicle was unroadworthy and its brakes were below the minimum requirement. It resulted in the vehicle and trailer combination becoming dangerous when parked on any slope.'

PC Christopher Goddard, the police forensic collision investigator, said, 'The vehicle was a ticking bomb. The only working brake was the handbrake on the rear axle of the lorry.'

The seven-and-a-half-ton Ford jackknifed, rolling for more than 120ft in Hollybush, near Blackwood, Gwent.

The inquest, in Newport, heard that Justin's elder brother Simon borrowed the trailer to carry a digger to make trenches. But he had no formal training in how to unload the JCB.

Justin's father Howard told the inquest the lorry started to roll downhill as they moved the digger.

He said, 'Simon had got into the digger and started the engine to drive it off the trailer.

'That's when the lorry, trailer and the digger started to go down the hill. I didn't see the accident but Justin was running alongside the lorry. I believe he was trying to get into the cab to stop it travelling further down the hill.'

Mr Bevan, of Argoed, Gwent, said Justin started walking back up the hill holding his stomach but then fell to the floor. He was taken to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny but died from internal bleeding.

Gwent coroner David Bowen recorded a verdict of accident.

He said, 'There is no evidence Simon knew the brakes on the lorry were defective but he should have known the trailer had no brakes at all.

'Even if not, it would be a basic safety measure to unload the JCB on a level surface or chock the wheels. Any one of these measures would have prevented this tragic and unnecessary death. '

GIRL, 15, SEES MUM CRUSHED BY A RUNAWAY 4x4 TRAILER.

GIRL, 15, SEES MUM CRUSHED BY A RUNAWAY 4x4 TRAILER.(News)

From:: The Mirror (London, England)
Date:: March 19, 1998
More results for:: runaway trailer

A YOUNG girl watched in horror yesterday as her mother was killed by a runaway trailer.

Felicity Campion, 44, had said goodbye to her eldest daughter Dorothy, 15, when she was killed.

The teenager had just boarded the Grampian Regional Council-run bus to take her 15 miles to Turriff Academy when she watched the tragic events unfold.

It is understood that the youngster scrambled from the bus to rush to her mother's aid - but it was too late.

Mrs Campion, of Auchterless, Aberdeenshire, was fatally injured when a trailer broke free from its mounting on the back of David Forbes' 4 by 4 Toyota Hi-Lux van, and ran over the top of her.

Yesterday heartbroken David, a farm mechanic, of Turriff, said: "I do not know what happened. It is such a horrible situation. I really cannot add anything to that at this stage."

Grampian Police were yesterday investigating the cause of the incident, but believed it to be a "freak accident".

A spokesman said: "PC Christopher Wheatley was the first on the scene and it must have been terrible for him."

Yesterday Niven Shiney, who lives in the same tiny village as the tragic family, said: "Felicity's death has come as a blow to the whole village.

"She was one of the most delightful people anyone could ever meet. It is an absolutely devastating thing to happen. "

Mrs Campion is survived by her husband, who works offshore, daughter Dorothy and two younger children Jennifer and Stephen, who attend Auchterless Primary School.

Headmaster Raymond Morton said yesterday: "The whole school is in a state of shock. We feel the loss for the whole family"

Amazing escapes in runaway trailer drama

From:: Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK)
Date:: November 22, 2007
More results for:: runaway trailer

A Young family yesterday had a "miraculous" escape when a runaway trailer crashed into their car before punching a hole in a factory wall in Dundee just feet from where staff were working.

The trailer, loaded with steel beams, ploughed into DC Thomson's building in Guthrie Street.

Staff in the book-binding department narrowly escaped as the 30ft trailer crashed through a wall.

One man jumped out of the way as it came through the glass and brick wall about 15ft from where he was standing, showering the shopfloor with debris at around 9am.

Ralph Crichton said: "I just heard this tremendous crash and turned round to see the trailer bursting through the wall. There were bricks and masonry everywhere, and a huge cloud of dust.

"I stood for a couple of seconds staring at it in disbelief and then jumped over the machine I was working at to get out of the way.

"There's another lad who works beside me but he had gone to the toilet. Fortunately, the trailer crashed through the wall between two machines. Having said that, there's also a desk where the trailer came through, and if anyone had been sitting at it they would have been badly injured or even killed."

The flat-bed trailer, which was not attached to a cab, caught a Fiat Punto a glancing blow. That appeared to have diverted it away from where Mr Crichton was.

The trailer had been parked in Horsewater Wynd, near to its junction with Guthrie Street. Shortly before the accident most of its steel beams had been offloaded at a nearby construction site.

As it crashed through the wall, the trailer just missed a load- bearing pillar. Workers said a direct hit on the pillar might have caused part of the floor above to collapse.

The young family in the Fiat escaped without injury but they were badly shaken.

Police said the trailer appeared to have suffered some sort of brake failure.

The city engineer declared the building structurally safe. The Health and Safety Executive was also notified.

A Tayside Police spokes-man said: "Miraculously, the occupants of the Fiat Punto, two adults and a child, escaped uninjured. Similarly, no members of staff at DC Thomson were injured."

Tractor driver 'knew of danger' COURT:

Tractor driver 'knew of danger' COURT: Jury hears how Milford Haven port manager killed after runaway trailer hit his car.(News)

From:: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)
Date:: September 5, 2001
More results for:: runaway trailer

Byline: ROBIN TURNER

THE former manager of the port where the Sea Empress disaster unfolded bled to death after a runaway trailer hit his car, a court heard.

The runaway trailer broke free from farmer Keith Knight's tractor and smashed into Mike Hislop's green Honda Coupe as he travelled to a cemetery.

At Swansea Crown Court, 46-yearold Knight of Castle Pill Farm, Steynton, Milford Haven, denied causing Mr Hislop's death by dangerous driving. Geraint Walters, prosecuting, has told the court that Knight knew the tow bar bolt in his tractor was dangerous but had taken a chance by using it.

He told the jury members, "The danger would have been obvious to you, me and the defendant, he took a gamble and, as a result, the life of Mr Hislop who was manager of Milford Haven Port Authority.

"Mr Knight had set off on his journey with a complete, utter disregard for safety, this was an accident waiting to happen."

Knight told police after the accident that the state of the road was to blame. He said he had earlier complained to the local authority about poor maintenance though no record of the complaint could be traced.

Opening the prosecution case, Mr Walters said speed did not play a part in the tragedy and the crown did not complain about the manner of Knight's driving. But, said Mr Walters, the defendant seemed "oblivious" to the risk he was taking in attaching the trailer in a dangerous manner.

Knight watched in horror as the trailer separated from his tractor, wandered to the right then overtook him as he descended a hill.

Shortly before, Mr Hislop had picked up a friend, Liz Collins, bound for a weekend in London.

He had given her a bunch of flowers a few days before and she wanted to place them on her parents' grave at Thornton Road Cemetery, Milford Haven, before setting off.

As they approached the entrance to the cemetery they were confronted by a road completely blocked by the approaching trailer on one carriageway and the tractor on the other. Mr Hislop, at the wheel of his Honda, tried to swerve left up an embankment but a corner of the trailer crashed into the driver's side of the car. He suffered broken ribs and a lacerated liver and died of loss of blood before a helicopter could get him to hospital.

Mr Walters said the tow bar was fractured which allowed "excessive play" at the point of joining. In addition, he said, the fracture meant a bolt did not protrude far enough for a securing lynch pin to be fitted. He said the amount of rust inside the barrel of the bolt showed no pin had been fitted.

The effect, he said, was that the trailer bounced along the road and worked itself free. The case continues.

Witness saw trailer 'bounce'

WITNESS Kate Thomas told the court she caught up with Knight in Thornton Road while driving her parents's Ford Fiesta.

Knight overtook her and Miss Thomas followed him along the road.

Shortly after, the jury heard, the trailer began to "bounce" and to sway from side to side.

After rounding a bend it separated from the tractor and Miss Thomas saw Knight looking back.

As the trailer overtook Knight's tractor he appeared to put his hand up as a "stop" sign to oncoming traffic.

After the accident she borrowed another motorist's mobile phone to call the police.

CAPTION(S):

VICTIM: Mike Hislop

Accused driver did not recall 'anything unusual'

Accused driver did not recall 'anything unusual'.(News)

From:: The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Date:: November 24, 1998
More results for:: loose trailer

A LORRY driver accused of causing grievous bodily injury to a two-year-old Armagh boy in an alleged "hit and run" accident last year told Newry Crown Court yesterday that he "didn't remember anything unusual happening" on the evening of the incident.

The jury is expected to consider its verdict today after a four-day hearing.

Samuel Neville Ferguson, of Collone, Armagh, denies inflicting injuries on Mark Bradshaw, of Mullabrack, through dangerous driving on November 3 last year.

He has also pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to stop, and failing to report the accident at Armagh Road, Newtownhamilton.

The boy was in a blue Metro driven by child minder Joanne Campbell.

In court Ferguson admitted that around the time of the accident he was going to Newtownhamilton with a 40ft trailer carrying a car body shell.

He agreed it was possible the shell could have been a "bit loose" and that he was mindful of it being in the trailer.

Asked why it took him an hour to travel 12 miles, Ferguson stated he was "going easy" so as not to damage the shell.

Accused accepted his vehicle was in collision with the Metro but denied categorically that he had collided with it.

Accused rejected evidence by a prosecution witness that he had to swerve to avoid colliding with an articulated vehicle.

Reported in the Birmingham Post 1998!!!!

GM must pay pounds 22m over death of boy.

From:: The Birmingham Post (England)
Date:: May 19, 1998
More results for:: loose trailer

A Florida jury ruled yesterday that General Motors Corp must pay pounds 22 million in damages to a family that sued the car maker over the death of their 13-year-old son.

The Broward County Circuit Court jury awarded no punitive damages in the wrongful death suit, filed by Constance and Robert McGee, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, over the death of their son, Shane, in a car fire.

The McGee's 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon was idling at a tollbooth at a Virginia highway on July 13, 1991, when a trailer broke loose from a pickup truck Curtis Cayton was driving several lanes away and rolled under the station wagon, leading to a fire.

McGee's attorney, Mr Sheldon Schlesinger, had argued that the accident could have been prevented if GM had built the car with a simple gas tank shield.

The jury had awarded the family pounds 40 million in compensation damages, but found GM only 55 per cent responsible for the accident, and therefore liable for the pounds 22 million payment. Punitive damages could have been astronomical.

Cayton was found 45 per cent responsible. But under Florida law, if only one of two potential defendants is sued, the one brought to court is not responsible for the other's portion of fault. Cayton had previously been sued in Virginia, and his insurer s ettled that case for an undisclosed amount.

General Motors attorneys said the company planned to appeal.

The fireball that killed Shane McGee also killed his cousin, Nancy Hawthorne, and burned four other family members, including Constance and Robert McGee, Shane's sister Kelly and another cousin, Jane Renze.

Hendry escapes motorway smash; SNOOKER

Hendry escapes motorway smash; SNOOKER.(Sport)

From:: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)
Date:: February 11, 2000
More results for:: loose trailer

STEPHEN HENDRY resumes his bid for a seventh Benson & Hedges Masters title tonight grateful to have the opportunity to face Ken Doherty in the last quarter-final of the pounds 615,000 event.

Hendry's Mercedes almost became involved in an accident that caused chaos for several hours on the M25.

Happily for the seven-times world champion and his driver John Carroll they were able to avoid the debris caused by a three-vehicle pile-up involving a mini-bus, a van and a loose trailer.

"It was a terrifying moment," admitted Carroll, who was driving the 31- year-old Scot back to Wembley following an engagement at a Bishop Stortford secondary school.

Hendry was shaken by the incident but returned to practice for his best of 11 frames showdown with Doherty, a repeat of their 1997 World Final meeting.

Doherty won that encounter to become Ireland's first ever World Snooker champ, but world number two Hendry is favourite to book a place in the last four and a meeting with Mark Williams or Stephen Lee.

After yesterday's upsets, including the defeat of former champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hendry will take nothing for granted.

But after his fortunate escape on the road maybe he feels Lady Luck is already on his side.

The penultimate quarter-final pits Williams against Lee two months after they faced each other in the quarter-finals of the China Open in Shanghai.

Lee won that encounter and Williams says he will be on his guard this afternoon.

"I suppose you could say that with Stephen reaching the finals of the last two ranking tournaments he must have the psychological edge," admitted Williams.

"But I love playing here, the Wembley Conference Centre is special.

"It's the best venue on the circuit by a long way and it makes you want to stay here as long as possible.

"I have got a good record against Stephen but that won't really count for a lot today."

Williams and Hendry are the only two players left in the competition who have won the tournament before.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Trauma of tragic girls READ THE ARTICLE WHY WAS NOTHING DONE??

Trauma of tragic girls.(News)

From:: The Journal (Newcastle, England)
Date:: October 18, 2003
More results for:: loose trailer

Byline: By Liz Hands

The family of a brave mother who died saving her children last night spoke of the trauma of having to live through the tragedy again.

Wendy Smith, 33, of Leaside, Halton Lea Gate, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland, was killed when she was hit by a runaway lorry trailer after pushing her children, Nicola, 10, and Chelcie, 4, to safety.

Yesterday, a coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death on the 1999 tragedy and said he would be seeking new laws to prevent trailers breaking away from lorries.

Ms Smith was mown down by the 3.5 tonne trailer when it broke loose from the truck pulling it.

Last night, Ms Smith's partner Richard Johnson told how the hearing had forced her family to live through her death again.

Mr Johnson attended all three days of the inquest in Carlisle, hoping it would help him and their children to move on after the tragedy.

The inquest ended with coroner David Osbourne calling for a law to be introduced to ensure trailers are better looked after.

Mr Johnson said he was unhappy with the inquest verdict and the past week had brought terrible memories flooding back for the children.

He said: "I had to leave before the end. It was just getting too upsetting. I couldn't

believe it when the verdict was accidental death. I know the coroner isn't there to give out punishments, but I am still so angry at what has happened."

Mr Johnson said he and children Nicola, now 14, and Chelcie, now eight, must now try to move on.

He said: "I would have liked this to go back to court but I realise there is nothing more I can do.

"We have no choice but to try to move on."

He added: "This inquest has knocked us all back to square one. It has taken four years since her death to get to this stage.

"We'd tried to get into a routine for the sake of the children, but now they are just as upset as they were when Wendy died.

"I've got no idea where to start telling them what happened at the inquest."

Although coroner David Osbourne called for tighter legislation to make sure a similar tragedy never happens again, Mr Johnson, a road maintenance worker, said that was not good enough.

"No one has been punished properly for what happened to Wendy. Others will just think nothing happened this time, so they won't bother checking their vehicles over either," he said.

Now living with his new partner, Pat, and her 11-year-old daughter, Mr Johnson said he and his two girls would be staying on in Halton Lea Gate.

He said: "There are some terrible memories. We have to pass the place Wendy was killed every day, but this is our home.

"Wendy was so well loved in the village and the support from all her friends has really helped us to come through this."

Village in shock as young mother dies saving her daughter

Village in shock as young mother dies saving her daughter.(News)

From:: The Birmingham Post (England)
Date:: September 9, 1999
More results for:: loose trailer

A mother crushed to death by a runaway trailer in front of her two daughters pushed the younger child out of danger moments before she was hit, a retired nurse who comforted the girls said yesterday.

Miss Wendy Smith, aged 33, of Leaside, Halton Lea Gate, Northumberland, was struck by the mobile toilet trailer as she walked to the village shop with her children.

She is thought to have saved four-year-old Chelcie by pushing her out of the path of the three-ton trailer.

Her other daughter Nicola, aged ten, was walking further along the pavement.

Police said the trailer somehow became uncoupled from the Atkinson lorry towing it.

It mounted the narrow pavement smashing into Miss Smith before demolishing part of a stone wall and finally coming to a halt after hitting a telegraph pole.

Miss Smith suffered serious head injuries and died later in Cumbria Infirmary, Carlisle.

The small community in the remote hamlet, situated deep in the Northumberland moors, was still in shock after the tragic incident on Tuesday afternoon.

Semi-retired nurse Mr Jim McHugh, aged 54, who rushed from his home after hearing the accident, said: "I realised that she stood no chance.

"She was in a terrible state and must have been hit hard.

"The portable toilet was on four wheels like a caravan and must have somehow come loose.

"Her eldest daughter had gone on ahead but she must have pushed the youngest one out of the way and took the full force herself.

"I didn't want the children to see their mum die on a roadside, I did all I could before the ambulance arrived, but she was in a very bad condition with severe head injuries.

"It is a tragedy. Another foot either way and it would have missed her. This is a small place and this has affected people badly.

"That a young mother who you know can be gone so quickly is hard to understand."

Mr Bob Habbick, aged 42, who lives opposite the accident scene, said: "I heard a clatter but never imagined it would result in something as awful as this.

"With only 200 to 300 people living here it is a close-knit community where you know most people by sight

"The whole village is shocked."

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "An investigation has been launched into this tragic accident and we appeal to anyone who saw the incident or the events leading up to it to contact us."

Lorry kills shop mum

Lorry kills shop mum.(News)

From:: The Mirror (London, England)
Date:: September 9, 1999
More results for:: loose trailer

A MOTHER was killed by a runaway lorry-trailer as she took her children to a sweet shop.

Wendy Smith, 33, was hit head-on by the three-tonne trailer after it came loose from the lorry and careered straight at her.

Nicola, 10, and Chelcie, four, escaped because they had just turned a corner to go into the shop.

Wendy, of Halton Lea Gate, Northumberland, died in hospital shortly afterwards.

Woman fights for life.

From:: Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough, England)
Date:: May 12, 2004
More results for:: loose trailer

A woman is fighting for her life today after suffering severe head injuries in a horror road smash.

The 38-year-old victim sustained the injuries when a trailer broke loose from the car towing it and smashed into the path of her car.

Emergency services rushed to the scene of the crash in Catcote Road, near the Summerhill Centre, Hartlepool, about 5.45pm yesterday.

Firefighters had to cut the trapped woman free and she was rushed to University Hospital of Hartlepool where she is detained in the intensive care unit in a "critical but stable" condition.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "A Vauxhall Astra driven by a 35-year-old man from Hartlepool had a trailer on the back and for some unknown reason the trailer became detached and ended up on the other side of the road in the path of a Fiat Brava driven by the 38-year-old woman."

Crews in two fire appliances, plus an emergency tender, from Hartlepool fire station dealt with the incident.

Thirteen killed in road accident in South Africa

From:: AP Worldstream
Date:: November 19, 2001
More results for:: loose trailer

AP Worldstream
11-19-2001
Dateline: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
A minibus crashed into the trailer truck Monday, killing 13 people and seriously injuring three others, police said.

The trailer had broken loose from the truck near the Ventersdorp town, 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Johannesburg, and was parked unmanned in the middle of the road, said police spokeswoman Sally Moloi.

The taxi slammed into the trailer, the South African Press Association reported.

The police said 13 passengers in the minibus were killed in the accident and two men and a woman were seriously injured. All were South African.

Copyright 2001, AP News All Rights Reserved

I'll never forgive him for robbing my girls

I'll never forgive him for robbing my girls.(News)

From:: Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England)
Date:: October 18, 2003
More results for:: loose trailer

Byline: By Jamie Diffley

A partner of a mum killed when a runaway trailer ploughed into her today said he blames the boss of the haulage company.

An inquest yesterday recorded a verdict of accidental death into the incident which killed 33-year-old Wendy Smith four years ago.

Miss Smith, of Halton Lea Gate, near Haltwhistle, was mown down in front of her two young daughters when the 3.5 tonne trailer broke loose from a lorry towing it.

North Cumbria deputy coroner David Osbourne said the accident could have been avoided if legislation had been in place to ensure trailers were properly maintained.

He said it "beggars belief" there was currently no law for haulage bosses to do so and pledged to write to government agencies to take up the matter.

Company boss William James Fletcher, of James Fletcher Ltd, refused to attend the two-day inquest.

The coroner heard that a safety cable was fitted when the lorry and trailer was sold to Fletcher's company and the fact it was missing was a major factor into the accident in September 1999.

In 2000 Fletcher, of County Durham, was fined pounds 2,750 by Hexham Magistrates after admitting the unsafe condition of his lorry had led to the tragedy. He also has to pay pounds 250 costs.

He had originally been charged with manslaughter but that charge was dropped due to lack of evidence.

The lorry also had faulty brakes.

The lorry's driver John Armstrong Stanley, was fined pounds 300 and ordered to pay pounds 50 costs for driving a faulty vehicle and not having a proper licence.

He also refused to attend the inquest.

Today Miss Smith's partner Richard Johnson said: "I was hoping for more than accidental death at the inquest after what happened.

"Because of Fletcher my daughters were robbed of a mother and Wendy's family has been robbed of a daughter and a sister.

"He only has himself to blame for what happened.

The driver to some extent is at fault but he was just driving the lorry which his boss told him to. We will never forgive Fletcher."

The couple's daughters Nicola and Chelcie were standing just yards away when their mum was killed on the A689 at around 4.30pm.

The young girls, who were 10 and four at the time, were out with their mum buying sweets when the trailer uncoupled from the truck and smashed into Miss Smith.

The force of the crash demolished a stone wall by the roadside and a telegraph pole.

The road was closed for three hours while emergency services attended the scene.

Miss Smith was taken to Cumberland Infirmary, in Carlisle, where she later died from her injuries.

Nicola, now 14, is still suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.

Mr Johnson, 34, is slowly rebuilding his life with new partner Pat Morrison but the inquest - which took four years to come to court - had dragged up a sorrowful past.

He said: "I hope this will be the final chapter now. If the inquest had been carried out soon after I could have got on with things, but I always knew it was coming.

"We are slowly getting by. The whole village has been brilliant and Pat has really helped me through it. We just want to get on with our lives."

Trampled by load of bull.

Trampled by load of bull.(News)

From:: The People (London, England)
Date:: April 23, 2000
More results for:: loose trailer

PEDESTRIANS in a County Carloow Town had a brush with death after a trailer-load of cattle careered down its Main Street.

Women and children had to dive for cover after the trailer broke loose from a tractor in the normally quiet town of Tullow.

The trailer, which contained over a dozen cattle, eventually stopped after it smashed into three cars.

One of the cars hit by the runaway cows was a brand new Audi A4 with only 84 miles on the clock.

A Garda spokesman said it was a miracle nobody was hurt in the freak accident.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Grandma waits for pay-out; ACCIDENT: Sylvia recovering

Grandma waits for pay-out; ACCIDENT: Sylvia recovering.(News)

From:: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)
Date:: March 14, 2007
More results for:: loose trailer

Byline: By Ben Griffin CRIME REPORTER

A GRANDMOTHER who survived a freak accident in Coventry is waiting to hear what compensation she will receive.

Sylvia Norburn was injured in Deedmore Road, Wood End, in July 2005, when a trailer came loose from a passing van and hit her.

Mrs Norburn is now waiting for news of compensation and is awaiting a shoulder operation.

Two men who who were charged in connection with the accident have walked free from court.

The 63-year-old suffered massive injuries, including a fractured jaw, skull, shoulder blade and spine, a broken leg, broken ribs, smashed teeth and a punctured lung.

The grandmother-of-four's recovery amazed doctors, and although she is disabled, she is back at home with her husband Colin in Monkswood Crescent, Henley Green.

After the incident a 54-year-old man was charged with dangerous driving and using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

But now the dangerous driving charge has been discontinued, and he received an absolute discharge after pleading guilty to using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

A 37-year-old was charged with aiding and abetting using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, but was found not guilty after a trial.

Both cases were heard at Coventry Magistrates' Court.

Mrs Norburn said she had not wanted the men to be punished.

She said: "I didn't really want anything to happen to him the driver, because he must be suffering stress."

Mrs Norburn was a dinner lady at Moat House Primary School in Deedmore Road, Wood End, before the accident.

The mother-of-three said: "I am restricted with movement. I hardly go out at all, only with my husband in the car or in the wheelchair.

"I haven't been out on my own since the accident, I sit in the house all the while. I used to be active and go around, but I can't now."

Trauma of tragic girls

Trauma of tragic girls.(News)

From:: The Journal (Newcastle, England)
Date:: October 18, 2003
More results for:: loose trailer