Mum of barman crushed in lift hits out at ruling of ‘accidental death’
THE MOTHER of a young barman crushed while moving furniture in a service lift has spoken about how her life has been “destroyed” as a jury ruled his death was accidental.
Cyran Stewart, 20, was transporting eight heavy chairs in a lift at the Walkabout bar, in Swansea, where he worked when one of the chairs moved and crushed him against the inner wall.
The former student, who had overridden the lift’s safety gate in order to get that many chairs in, was trapped for more than 30 minutes before firefighters were able to release him.
An inquest into his death at Swansea Coroner’s Court heard Mr Stewart died in hospital four days after the incident at the venue.
Yesterday, a jury of five women and six men concluded that Mr Stewart’s death was accidental.
Reading their conclusions, the jury foreman said: “At 3.18am on February 24, 2014, Cyran was transporting furniture in a service lift at Walkabout. As a result of loading eight chairs in the lift the safety gate could not be closed leading to Cyran overriding the safety mechanism of the inner door.
“While the lift ascended, the leg of one of the upturned chairs caught on the ledge of the ground floor causing furniture to shift, crushing Cyran against wall of the lift.
“As a result of the injuries, Cyran later died in hospital.”
Speaking after the hearing Mrs Galbraith said she was not happy with the conclusion and would have preferred a narrative verdict.
The two-week inquest heard from several of Mr Stewart’s colleagues who said they had also been trapped in the lift after it had stopped working but not while there was furniture inside.
Other members of staff told jurors that a safety mechanism could be overridden, and that a number of them did override it.
The inquest also heard the lift doors could be opened in an emergency using a V-plate key but that this was missing at the time of the incident.
Mr Stewart’s medical cause of death was given as hypoxic ischemic brain injury caused by pressure to the chest and abdomen in a traumatic asphyxiation.
Mr Stewart’s older brother, Gavin, was deputy manager of the bar but was not on duty at the time.
Paying tribute to her son after the inquest, Mrs Galbraith described Cyran as a “very intelligent young man”.
Born in Germany, the Bayern Munich fan loved sport, and was “gifted and talented” at school.
Mrs Galbraith said: “In time I believe he would have spent his life in Germany as he always wanted to return.
“When the Olympics were on I would return home and find a track imprinted in the grass, pan lids and broom handles in the garden replicating the discus and javelin events he had watched on TV. It kept him fit and amused.
“He was considered gifted and talented at school. He loved animals and wanted to be a vet but changed his mind and went to Bradford University to do computer science.”
Mrs Galbraith added: “My son died as innocent as the day he was born. I will never see him get married or have children. I have been denied that pleasure. My life has been destroyed.”