Pc’s runaway van killed pensioner after she forgot how to park on a hill
A PENSIONER was killed by a runaway police van after an officer failed to properly apply the handbrake, an inquest was told yesterday.
Donald Bennett, an 83-year-old great-grandfather from Pudsey, Leeds, died from chest injuries after he was hit by the van as it rolled down a slope in a park.
Wakefield Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Bennett, who walked with two sticks after a hip replacement and had a heart condition, had gone to the park to watch the bowls and his wife, Margery, had given him money for an ice cream.
The inquest was told Pc Claire Bugler was speaking to a group of youths in response to a 999 call about an incident in Pudsey Park when the unmanned vehicle began to move, dragging Mr Bennett underneath.
A 12-year-old boy, who saw the incident on June 1 2013, said he looked through the passenger window of the van after it had trapped Mr Bennett, and saw the officer motion as if she was pulling up the handbrake. “I saw her lean into the van and it looked like she was doing the motion of pulling the handbrake up and then she came out and went to the front,” he said.
Pc Bugler told the inquest she was not aware of the Highway Code advice for parking a vehicle on a hill, which is applying the handbrake, putting it in gear and turn the steering wheel. She claims she did use the handbrake but did not put the vehicle in gear.
Pc Bugler joined West Yorkshire Police in January 2010. She had passed her driving test in 2007. When asked if she was aware of the guidelines of parking a vehicle on an incline, she said: “I was not aware at the time.”
Jessica Smith, from London, told the jury she was in the park with her father when she saw Mr Bennett walking slowly down the slope, with a walking stick in one hand and an ice cream in the other.
“He wasn’t able to get out of the way in time,” she said. “The van made impact with Mr Bennett, knocked him off his feet. It continued to roll forwards until he was no longer visible, he was trapped underneath.”
Miss Smith said people tried to lift the van from Mr Bennett using a car jack but were unsuccessful. She said another man lay on the floor holding Mr Bennett’s hand and comforting him. He died from chest injuries at the scene.
Pc Bugler has been subject to an Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry.
The inquest continues.