Pensioner on mobility scooter kills grandad, 88
‘Not an isolated incident’
A GRANDFATHER was killed by another pensioner riding a mobility scooter.
Frederick Longlands, 88, was hit from behind and fell, smashing his head on the pavement, an inquest heard.
The retired foreman died a few weeks later in hospital after contracting pneumonia caused by a complex haemorrhage.
The scooter owner – Leslie Henshaw, 79 – died before any charges could be brought.
Tanyka Rawden, Derbyshire’s assistant coroner, said she would write to the House of Commons calling for legislation to protect pedestrians from mobility scooters.
‘We want something positive to come out of this,’ she added.
Wednesday’s inquest was told that CCTV footage showed Mr Longlands would not have been aware the scooter was behind him.
Detective Sergeant Darren Muggleton said Mr Henshaw appeared to be driving on or above the 4mph limit on the pavement in Ilkeston.
Mr Henshaw had never driven a car and it was his first scooter. Mr Muggleton said: ‘What was interesting was that someone with no driving experience was allowed to drive among vulnerable people.’
He said there was ‘no evidence of a reaction’ from Mr Henshaw before the collision on February 25, 2015.
When questioned under caution by police, he claimed to have been ‘crawling’ along the pavement at ‘almost zero’ miles an hour.
He insisted he tried to manoeuvre around Mr Longlands only for the grandfather to change direction unexpectedly. Asked why his account was at odds with the CCTV evidence, Mr Henshaw conceded it looked as if he was driving too fast.
Police submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service but mobility scooters are not covered by the Road Traffic Act 1998 and a charge of death by dangerous driving could not be laid.
Instead Mr Henshaw could have faced a charge of ‘wanton and furious driving of a carriage’ or manslaughter by gross negligence.
Police vehicle examiner, Trevor Jones, told Derby coroner’s court: ‘This isn’t an isolated incident, I’ve done quite a few over the years I’ve been doing this. There needs to be attention drawn to it.’
In her closing statement, Miss Rawden concluded it was an unlawful killing. She said: ‘I have very strong views about this, there needs to be some sort of protective legislation for pedestrians.’
Mr Longlands’ wife Diana – to whom he was married for more than 60 years – was housebound at the time of his death and had to be moved into a care home where she had a fatal stroke.