65-year-old man crushed to death by tractor which had towed his pickup truck from ditch
A coroner has raised concerns over the lack of legal servicing requirements for some agricultural vehicles after a man was crushed to death by a tractor which had helped tow his pickup truck out of a ditch.
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HGV driver Richard Ellis died at a country estate in a West Sussex village when the tractor rolled downhill onto him after its handbrake failed, an inquest heard.
The 65-year-old had been collecting an electricity generator using a pickup truck and trailer but could not reverse out of Harwoods Green Lane in Stopham because the track was too narrow.
His vehicle got stuck on an incline in a ditch, so he got assistance from a nearby estate worker who helped tow the vehicle out.
Mr Ellis’s Isuzu was freed from the ditch by a tractor, but after he and the tractor driver removed the towing strap from the pickup truck, the tractor’s handbrake failed and it rolled onto both of them.
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The tractor driver survived, but Mr Ellis suffered serious chest injuries and died at the scene on October 23 2023.
The coroner ruled Mr Ellis’s death was an accident but raised concerns about the rules for maintaining some vehicles.
In a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report, published on Monday, Joanne Andrews, area coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, highlighted the lack of legal requirements for servicing and maintenance of some agricultural tractors.
Mr Ellis’s inquest heard evidence from the tractor driver, who said he had no concerns about the vehicle’s handbrake before Mr Ellis’s death, the PFD report said.
Ms Andrews wrote: “The tractor had last been serviced in 2021 but the evidence that I heard was that it was not a legal requirement for there to be any prescribed maintenance or servicing of tractors solely used for agricultural, horticultural or forestry.”
She added: “As such, the maintenance of these vehicles is dependent on the discretion of the vehicle owners.”
Ms Andrews had ordered the Department for Transport to respond to her report by November 22.
