Boy aged 14 killed by hockey stick blow to his head
A TEENAGER died after being accidentally hit on the head with a hockey stick during practice, an inquest heard yesterday.
Luke Hobson, 14, was among 20 boys hitting balls at the training session in March last year.
The pitch lights were off and coaches had not yet arrived to supervise when he was struck, the hearing was told.
Police investigated, but were unable to establish how Luke suffered the fatal injury until the player responsible came forward.
The under-14s had been due to play against parents, and when an adult unlocked a gate, the boys started playing and tragedy struck, the inquest heard.
Luke dribbled the ball with his head down and was hit with the
‘I didn’t mean to hit anybody’
stick when a boy flicked a ball up and went for a volley.
The teenager was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge but suffered such serious brain injuries that doctors said it would be impossible to recover.
The other boy explained in a statement: ‘I didn’t know Luke was behind me. I ran to get first aid. I didn’t mean to hit anybody. It was an accident and I am very sorry it happened.’ He claimed he hadn’t contacted police earlier because he had ‘only later been able to fully remember details’.
Luke was training at Blueharts Hockey Club in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, when he was hit on March 28 last year. Coaches tried to revive him when they arrived but his injuries were said to be ‘unsurvivable’. Luke’s parents, Helen Moss and Peter Hobson, told Hertfordshire Coroner’s Court that investigations carried out by North Hertfordshire District Council and police had been blighted by a ‘disappointing level of analysis, accuracy and conclusions’.
Mr Hobson told the inquest the pain of his son’s death ‘does not fade’. He said: ‘How can it be possible to have dropped him off for training as usual and three hours later for him to be dead?’ He explained: ‘The vacuum he has left behind is as empty as ever. Without Luke it is hard to find meaning in anything.’ Recording a conclusion of accidental death, coroner Geoffrey Sullivan told Luke’s parents: ‘What happened to you is what every parent dreads. There is nothing I can say to make it better or anyone can say or do.’
The coroner could not say that the fact the boys were unsupervised and playing in low light directly caused the tragedy.
Luke’s parents, who have one other child, said after the hearing: ‘Luke was a kind and loving boy who at 14 had limitless possibilities ahead of him. The pain of losing him is unbearable.
‘Since Luke’s death we have done all we can to make sure lessons are learnt so that no other family has to go through what we have.’ England Hockey is launching new guidelines to ensure children are constantly supervised.
Luke started playing with Blueharts’ under-tens. The club’s gates are now kept locked before sessions begin, the inquest heard.
In a statement after the hearing, the club said: ‘We would like to express again our most sincere condolences to Luke’s family and friends for their loss.’
A JustGiving page raised more than £5,000 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance in memory of the teenager. Luke’s father, a member of Hitchin Running Club, also took part in a 10km run to raise funds.