Pair have lucky escape after A46 smash

Gary Smee

24 January. Updated: 24 January 12:41

A DRIVER and his passenger had a lucky escape after a trailer came loose and smashed through their car windscreen.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the twin-axle trailer, which was being pulled by a Land Rover Discovery, weaving back and forth before it reared up and hit a Mercedes travelling in the opposite direction on the A46 bypass near Sedgeberrow on Friday (January 21) at just after 7.15am.
The horrifying incident closed road for almost three hours as firefighters battled to free the passenger in the Mercedes by removing the roof with hydraulic cutters.
The man, believed to have been in his 40s, was immobilised using a spinal board and taken to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch with non life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the car suffered minor injuries and the driver of the Land Rover was unhurt.
Julian Jenkins, watch manager at Evesham Fire Station, said the consequences could have been far more serious.
"I think the men can count themselves very lucky because there were bits of wood sticking into the car which just missed them," he said.
Police are appealing for witnesses.
PC Matthew Pedrick, investigating, said: "We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision or either of the vehicles in the moments leading up to it.
"This took place on a busy road at the beginning of rush-hour so I anticipate a number of people may have information."
Anyone with information should call police on 0300 333 3000 or Crimestoppers anonymouly on 0800 555 111.

Woman in critical condition after trailer crash

Woman in critical condition after trailer crash

5:28pm Sunday 5th September 2010

A woman is in a critical condition after her car was hit by a runaway trailer.

She was driving a Saab convertible along the A267 near Wellshurst Golf Club, Hellingly, just after 12.30pm when the trailer, being pulled by a Land Rover in the opposite carriageway, broke free.

The motorist suffered potentially life threatening injuries and was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital by the Surrey Air Ambulance.

Her passenger, a woman in her 60s, was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the Land Rover, a 38-year-old man from Herstmonceux, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of careless or dangerous driving.

Police are appealing for witnesses.

Lucky to be alive after trailer smashed into home

Published Date: 05 June 2010

By Richard Blackledge

News Reporter

A FORMER steelworker aged 92 is "lucky to be alive" today - after a runaway farm trailer careered loose from a tractor and smashed into the front of his bungalow.

Fred Cheetham was enjoying a quiet afternoon sitting in his favourite chair in his living room when the 25ft trailer - which had broken away from its tractor unit - crashed into his property, launching him from his armchair.

Fred's son Stuart Cheetham, 60, says his startled dad is "shaken up" but unhurt by the freak accident, and called his lucky escape "a miracle".

Stuart said the trailer disconnected from the tractor as it was travelling up High Street onto Haugh Road in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, before hurtling around 40 yards down an incline and crashing into his dad's home in High Street.

"He's lucky to get away with his life," said Stuart. "His home is at the corner at the top of High Street. The trailer ran back down the hill, then straight into the bungalow.

"The front of the bungalow is crushed, it's pushed everything inside. My dad was sitting in the corner at the side of the window - the force actually spun his chair around where he was sitting!

"It's a miracle he's alive."

Stuart, who lives in Thrybergh, was visiting his dad at the time of the accident, and said he heard a "big explosion" as the trailer crashed into the bungalow.

"It was a fairly big bang, it just sounded like a big explosion. I was in the passage leading from the front door, and as soon as it happened I screamed and went to see if he was alright.

"He seemed to be okay. It was me that was shocked, more so than my dad."

Stuart said the impact sent bricks and masonry flying down the passageway, and that he was hit by a concrete breezeblock, but escaped injury.

Fred was born in Rawmarsh in 1917, and worked at Parkgate Iron and Steel before moving to Blackpool with his wife, Stella, in 1969. Within months, she died tragically of leukaemia aged 45, leaving Fred a widower for over 40 years.

"He's lived through nearly two world wars," said Stuart, the youngest of their three sons. "We fetched him back to Rawmarsh two-and-a-half years ago to live near us."

Fred will now be moved to emergency accommodation while his bungalow is repaired.

"He's got to move out of his home now, it's too dangerous for him to stay," Stuart said.

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Boy seriously injured after loose trailer smashes into car The 10-year-old boy and the 65-year-old driver of the car were airlifted to Aberdeen Roya

Boy seriously injured after loose trailer smashes into car

The 10-year-old boy and the 65-year-old driver of the car were airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary following the crash.

A ten-year-old boy has been seriously injured after a car was apparently struck by a detached trailer.

The boy and the 65-year-old driver of the car were airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary following the crash around a mile north of Turriff.

The incident involving a Kia Sedona people carrier and a tractor towing the trailer happened at around 8.50am on Tuesday on the A947 Turriff to Banff road.

Roads policing Inspector Mike McDonald said: "The trailer appears to have become detached from the tractor and collided with the Kia.

"Our enquiries are continuing and local diversions are in place while a full accident investigation takes place."

The two other passengers in the Kia - 50-year-old woman and another child - were treated on the scene but their injuries are not thought to be serious. The tractor driver was uninjured.

The Kia was driving south on the A947, while the tractor was travelling north.

Last updated: 06 October 2009, 15:41

Towed boat with no lights hit by lorry on A194M

Sep 23 2009 by Linda Richards, Evening Chronicle

SHIPWRECKED - and it didn’t even happen at sea.

That was the fate of the Lisa P pleasure boat when a truck ploughed into it as it was being towed on a trailer on the A194M in Gateshead.

With no lights on the back of the trailer being pulled by a Range Rover on an unlit section of the road near Follingsby Interchange, it was a sitting duck, a court heard.

Minutes earlier another motorist had a near miss with the unlit trailer and alerted police. But before officers could take action, a 27-tonne HGV smashed into the back of the trailer.

The Range Rover and trailer were shunted 100 yards up the road. The Range Rover was damaged, the trailer and boat were destroyed but no-one was hurt.

Range Rover driver Neal Glendenning faced the music at Gateshead Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to using a trailer in a condition likely to cause danger or injury.

JPs heard everything was shipshape until the 52-year-old, from Front Street, Leadgate, County Durham, hit an unlit section of the motorway at around 7.45pm on March 3.

Prosecutor Kim Elder said: “A witness contacted the police because he had seen a vehicle on the A194M with no type of lighting or reflectors which caused him to swerve and narrowly avoid a collision with it.

“The witness felt so strongly about the vehicle being driven dangerously he stopped and called the police. He thought it wouldn’t be long before there was a collision.”

And that’s exactly what happened when a lorry driver with 38 years’ experience came up behind the trailer.

Miss Elder said the driver, who was carrying pallets, was driving at between 35 and 40mph when he suddenly hit something.

“It was only after the collision when he got out that he realised he had crashed into a boat,” she said. “His vehicle was substantially damaged at the front end.”

A police collision investigator concluded the trailer was home made and not fit for its purpose.

And that there was no lighting at all on the back of the trailer because the cable was not long enough to reach the power point.

John Williams, defending, said the accident has been very costly for Glendenning.

“The boat had only third party insurance and that was written off with a £5,000 loss,” he said.

Magistrates fined Glendenning £85 with £55 costs. His licence was also endorsed.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Seeing the boat destroyed must have been a painful experience for its owner. It is only good fortune that no-one was seriously injured or killed.”

Fresh demand for 'MoT' trailer tests

Friday, September 25, 2009, 09:30

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A COUNCILLOR campaigning for an MoT-style test for trailers after the death of a four-year-old boy says a change in the law has not gone far enough.

The Department of Transport recently added a check of the towing hitch to the MOT test for cars.

But Juliette Blake, a Derbyshire county councillor, also wants an annual test of road-worthiness for trailers, and has now written to the Government.

It is the latest step in her fight for tougher laws after Finlay Martin was killed by a runaway trailer in 2007.

The youngster, of Old Road, Heage, was walking with his mother, Zoe, 32, when he was hit. She suffered serious injuries.

An investigation after Finlay's death found that the trailer involved had defective brakes, and that a cable which should have activated the brakes when the vehicle became detached from the car was missing.

Trailers are not subject to annual MoT-style tests, but there is a legal requirement to keep them roadworthy. Coun Blake said: "If there was a crash next week in which 60 schoolchildren on a bus on the motorway were killed by a runaway trailer, there would be public outrage.

"We would see Gordon Brown on television, promising to introduce MoTs.

"By that time it would be too late – 60 parents would have to go through the living hell that Zoe and Wayne Martin have to endure for the rest of their lives, thanks to an unroadworthy trailer, which had seen no maintenance in 30 years, smashing into their sweet little four-year-old boy, Finlay."

Since Finlay's death, Coun Blake has collected 1,500 names on a petition calling for an annual compulsory test of roadworthiness for all trailers.

She also got Derbyshire police to carry out a series of roadside checks, including one in July 2008, which found that 80% of trailers stopped were defective. Problems included corrosion, missing breakaway cables, worn towing hitches and defective brakes.

In September 2008, Mrs Blake wrote to Jim Fitzpatrick, the-then Parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for Transport, but claimed she had received no reply.

She has now written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew Adonis, demanding changes to the law.

"We need MoTs for trailers full stop," said Mrs Blake, Derbyshire county councillor and Amber Valley borough councillor for Heage, and the leader of Ripley Town Council.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said it was looking at whether a statutory testing regime was needed for light trailers.

She said: "The evidence we have to date suggests most accidents involving light trailers are not caused by maintenance defects on the trailer.

"Many are caused by the way the towing vehicle was driven or occur because the trailer was not connected to the towing vehicle correctly, or was overloaded. These could be rectified by an MoT test"

Loose Trailer Slames Into Car.. Ex-firefighter and daughter, 6, help at Stourport crash

Ex-firefighter and daughter, 6, help at Stourport crash

2:53pm Monday 17th August 2009

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AN EX-firefighter and his six-year-old daughter sprang into action when a trailer crashed into a car in Stourport.

A flatbed trailer had come unhooked from a Peugeot 406 estate and hit a Citroen Xsara travelling in the opposite direction in Wilden Lane at about 6.15pm yesterday.

Jim Bainbridge, who was taking his daughter Eleanor to Stourport Swimming Baths, was driving behind the trailer when it came loose.

The car that was hit contained a husband and wife with their two daughters, aged about two and four years old.

While Mr Bainbridge tended to the woman, who was later taken to hospital with a cracked vertebrae, Eleanor comforted the young children on the side of the road.

He explained: “To be fair to Eleanor, because she’s only six, she was very calm and sat and looked after the girls to keep them out of the road.

“Afterwards, when we got home, she was very interested with what would happen to the family next and if they would have gone to hospital.

“She wasn’t upset in any way and was very resilient. She must be a budding firefighter or nurse.”

The eldest daughter of the family involved in the crash had blood in her mouth, “probably due to a bitten lip”, he added.

Mr Bainbridge, a training and development instructor for the fire service in Droitwich, explained he was experienced at dealing with similar incidents, having been a watch manager in Redditch and Bromsgrove.

“I’m used to dealing with emergencies and being in charge so this was nothing new to me,” he added.

A fire crew from Stourport, an ambulance service rapid response vehicle and police also attended the scene, with the road closed until about 8pm.

The father of the family was uninjured and his wife is currently being treated at Worcestershire Royal Hospital...

7th August 2008

Backing for trailer campaign

There is just a week left to sign a petition started after the death of a four-year-old boy in Heage.

Finlay Martin was killed when a trailer being towed by a car came off in Old Road.

He had been walking with his mum, Zoe, to pick his sister, Millie, up from the village primary school when the accident happened.

The trailer was later found to have defective breaks and no breakaway cable fitted – a device that should have stopped it from moving once it broke away.

After the incident Juliette Blake, borough councillor for Heage and Ambergate, started an online petition to the Prime Minister to make sure all trailers undergo MoTs and are fitted with the cables.

It currently has 1,284 names and a poll on the Belper News website asking whether MoTs should be introduced for trailers saw 96 per cent of readers vote for yes.

Cllr Blake said: "I am over the moon that the votes cast in the Belper News indicate an overwhelming support for the trailer safety MoT campaign.

"I intend to report the results to the government to strengthen our case for this much-needed common sense legislation."

To sign the petition click here.

Runaway cement mixer causes smash

Runaway cement mixer causes smash

By Tom Shepherd

A pregnant woman, an elderly couple and three netball players escaped serious injury when a runaway cement mixer skidded across a busy road causing mayhem.

The machinery flew off the back of a trailer, which had been approaching the A420 from the Bampton direction near Buckland, and collided with a car on Wednesday night.

A blue Land Rover seen pulling the trailer failed to stop at the scene.

Last night police confirmed they were hunting the driver and issued an appeal for witnesses.

Miraculously, no one suffered serious injuries in the smash on the busy Oxford to Swindon road.

Marlene Snow, 65, from Bampton, was driving along the A420 with friends Andrea Wellington, from Faringdon, and Katie Clarke, from Carswell Marsh, when the mixer smashed into the front of her Nissan X-Trail.

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The friends, who are all members of Shrivenham Netball Club, were travelling to a match in Banbury.

Mrs Snow said she was no more than 20 metres from the junction when she spotted the mixer.

She said: "It flew like a bobsleigh. It clipped the front of the car and pulled me towards the middle of the road where vehicles were ready to turn to Bampton.

"I tried to pull back to the correct side of the road, but I hit an elderly couple's car.

"I didn't know at the time it was a cement mixer, I just saw an orange rusty shape hurtling across the road.

"It could have been so much worse. If it had hit the side of my car, it would have probably killed my friend."

The mixer came to rest in front of a blue VW Golf driven by heavily pregnant woman Victoria Pattison.

Ms Wellington, who suffered whiplash, was forced to take the day off work yesterday.

She said: "I was in the back. I saw the mixer coming at such a speed - it was really going fast. I closed my eyes. I knew we were going to hit something.

The Nissan struck a Toyota Yaris driven by pensioner Harry Benford, 82, from Kennington, who was taking wife Eunice out for dinner to celebrate her 82nd birthday.

He said: "Sparks flew and a mixer came careering across the road - my wife was left very shaken."

Ms Pattison, from Watchfield, said she felt lucky not to have been hit by the mixer.

She urged police to track down the driver of the Land Rover who failed to stop.

She said: "I was fine - I was more worried about the elderly couple.

"I can't believe the driver failed to stop."

Call police on 08458 505050 or 0800 555111.

6:13am Friday 13th June 2008

WebMaster Note:

We were able find this in our research.

Mrs. Juliette Blake was able to find in her research.

• Published Date: 07 August 2003
• 
  
• Location: Ripley & Heanor

Rogue trailer in street rampage

The accident scene in Heanor on Sunday. Photograph by Jason Hicking.

A TRAILER broke free from a tractor and hurtled 200 yards down a steep Heanor street.

The trailer, which was laden with bales of hay, uprooted a lamp post as it raced down Mansfield Road and two cars collided in an attempt to avoid it.
The cars were badly damaged in the accident, but the occupants - who are thought to have included a family - escaped uninjured.
The runaway trailer eventually came to a standstill when it crashed into a wall near to Watson Avenue.
The accident happened as the tractor was travelling up the road, towards to Market Place, at 5.20pm on Sunday.
Mansfield Road was closed at both ends for five hours while the debris was cleared away.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: "The trailer just broke away and hurtled down the hill. We're still investigating what actually happened."
Jason Hicking, of Heanor was visiting family in the area when the accident happened. He said: "I think a family were in one of the cars involved and it looked very serious. But then we heard that no-one had been injured, which seemed incredible.
"The trailer took a lamp post with it as it travelled about 200 yards down the hill.
"It made a real mess - there was just hay everywhere."

BREAKING NEWS: TRAILER BREAKS FREE AND HITS LORRY

BREAKING NEWS: TRAILER BREAKS FREE AND HITS LORRY

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An articulated lorry was badly damaged when it was hit by a trailer that had come loose from a car today.

The collision happened at about 1.40pm in Nottingham Road, Alfreton today.

The trailer was being towed by a 4x4 vehicle and, after breaking free, became trapped underneath the Mercedes lorry.

The driver of the 4x4 did not stop and was last seen being driven in the direction of Selston.

Recovery crews were called to free the trailer and remove the lorry, which it is understood was being driven by a Pole.

Anyone who witnessed the incident should call police on 0845 123 3333

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.

Bus stop woman hit by runaway trailer

Bus stop woman hit by runaway trailer

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Saturday 29th Jun 1996.

A RUNAWAY trailer ploughed into a woman standing at a bus stop in a freak hit-and-run accident which left her fighting for her life.

The trailer broke free from a car travelling down the East Lancs Road in Swinton and careered onto the pavement before hitting mother of four Mrs

Maria Young, aged 41, of Sportside Avenue, Walkden.

Police said she had been waiting for a bus at the side of the busy main road.

Detectives are now hunting the driver of the car who did not stop after the accident and are appealing for witnesses.

The accident happened yesterday at 3.40pm on the East Lancs Road, close to its junction with Eccles Road.

The vehicle was travelling west bound down the carriageway when the trailer became detached.

Mrs Young was rushed to Hope Hospital with serious injuries. This morning she was described as "critical" in the intensive care unit.

Any witnesses able to help trace the vehicle - believed to be a "small, possibly light blue car" - are asked to contact PC Gerrard at Salford Traffic Unit on 0161 856 5078.

Mrs Young has three daughters, aged 20, 18, and 11, a 13 year old son, and two grandchildren

She had been to visit her eldest daughter in Swinton and was waiting for the bus to take her home when the accident happened.

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

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http://www.asianimage.co.uk
© Newsquest Media Group 1996

Motorist hurt by runaway trailer

Motorist hurt by runaway trailer

From the The Argus, first published Friday 20th Oct 2006.

A motorist was left battered and bruised after a runaway trailer ploughed into her car.

Dawn Barnett, 65, was driving from her home in Hangleton to the nearby Sainsbury's when the trailer became unattached from a car travelling in the opposite direction and ploughed head-on into the driver's side of her Hyundai.

Mrs Barnett, a Brighton and Hove city councillor, dived for cover but still suffered major bruising, a deep cut to her knee and shock.

The driver of the car towing the one-ton trailer did not stop and police are now trying to trace its owner.

Mrs Barnett said: "As far as the other driver knew, I may have been dead. They wouldn't have known if it had hit a car, a pedestrian or ploughed into a house.

"The first I knew about it was this big blue thing was looming up in front of me and coming right at me.

"I wasn't paying particular notice to the other side of the road or what was happening over there but all of a sudden this big trailer comes on to my side of the road.

"I had the presence of mind to dive into the passenger seat because you can see it hit right by the driver's door.

"The next thing was a huge bang as the trailer hit and the car jolted to a halt. I just shut my eyes and hoped for the best.

"I was completely dazed and luckily there were plenty of people around who helped me and called an ambulance."

Mrs Barnett was taken to hospital after the accident, at 12.40pm on Wednesday in Hangleton Lane, and a resident from nearby Poplar Close gathered her belongings from the car and later returned them.

But she has been left shaken by the ordeal and is determined to trace the driver of the car.

Friends have been trawling local builders' yards to see if the trailer belongs to them but so far to no avail.

Mrs Barnett did not see the car the trailer had been attached to but believes it must be someone who either lives or works in the Hangleton area.

The trailer was full of sand and Mrs Barnett believes its owner was probably being employed by someone in the local area.

She said: "Someone has either now got to pay out for a whole trailer load of sand again or has not got the job done that they wanted.

"That should set some alarm bells ringing and I'd hope anyone who knows anything about it would come forward because this could have easily killed me or someone else.

"Imagine if the trailer hit a pedestrian or a child. They would be dead now.

"The worst thing is they must have known the trailer came unattached so why didn't they stop?

"The driver should have turned around immediately to see what had happened but they obviously didn't.

"They obviously were either too scared to face the music or too worried about what would happen to them."

Anyone who recognises the trailer or who has information about the incident is asked to call Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.

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From the The Argus
http://www.theargus.co.uk
© Newsquest Media Group 2006

Police name trailer death crash woman

Police name trailer death crash woman

By James Morton

THE married mother-of-three tragically killed by a runaway trailer in Bere Regis on May 18 has been named.

Sarah Damen, 37, from Bere Regis, had just dropped her daughter off at Bere Regis First School and was walking home along the pavement when she was hit.

The trailer had broken free from a red Landrover that was towing it.

Police said Mrs Damen's husband Mark, 44, and their three children - Emily, five, Mary, four, and David, two - were being comforted by relatives. The three-year-old girl involved in the collision has been named as Rebekah Gee, from Bere Regis.

Rebekah was said to be making good progress in Dorset County Hospital, while her mum Suzanne was still recovering from shock after the incident.

Insp John Mallace, of Dorset Police's road policing unit, said: "This is a tragic road traffic collision and my thoughts go out to all those involved in it.

"In particular, I wish Rebekah a speedy recovery and send my condolences to the family of Mrs Damen.

"A professional investigation is taking place and police family liaison officers are keeping the victims regularly updated as to the progress of the enquiry."

Bere Regis First School have also offered their sympathies to the Damen family.

Head teacher Steve Battishill said: "Everyone at the school is shocked and saddened by this tragic event.

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the family and all involved in this terrible accident."

The group had been walking along the C6 Bere Regis to Wool road at Southbrook when the tragedy unfolded just after 9am.

A man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but was bailed pending the findings of the police investigation.

7:00pm Tuesday 22nd May 2007

4x4 trailer kills school run mum

4x4 trailer kills school run mum

A MUM was crushed to death by a runaway trailer ? minutes after dropping her daughter off at school.

Sarah Damen, 37, had just waved off the five-year-old when the trailer loaded with wood broke free from a Land Rover and hit the pavement.

It overturned on to the mum of three, trapping her. Firecrews in Bere Regis, Dorset, used air bags to lift the trailer but paramedics could not save Sarah.

A woman and a child were also injured, but are stable in hospital. Police have arrested the 44-year-old Land Rover driver.

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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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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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.

1:10pm Tuesday 5th February 2008

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

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.

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