Mechanic crushed by camper van
A“KIND and loving” son died in a freak accident after he was crushed by a camper van he and his father were working on.
Tomas Shackson, 27, sustained a fatal brain injury while working on a Winnebago with his dad, Terrence, at their jointly owned business, Shackson Autos, in Llanbradach, Caerphilly, at around 4.40pm on October 9 last year.
The vehicle, which had been untouched for 10 years, unexpectedly shot forward while Tomas was underneath, causing him to be knocked unconscious.
When he was discovered by Mr Shackson, he was lying face down and had suffered a serious head injury.
An ambulance was called and Tomas was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, where he received surgery and was placed in intensive care.
Despite the hospital staff ’s best efforts to save him, Tomas died four days after his accident, on October 13.
An inquest hearing at Newport Coroner’s Court yesterday heard that Cardiff resident Tomas began working with his father after finishing his studies at Barry College.
In a statement read out at the hearing, Tomas’ mother, Sue Nicholas, said her son had always been interested in cars, and loved working with his dad and restoring classic cars as a hobby.
She said: “He was full of kindness, loving and the most hard-working, lovely man. He was extremely popular and made us very proud. He was fit as a fiddle, enjoyed sports, music and socialising in general, he was family and friend orientated.”
Mrs Nicholas said the death of her son had “left a massive hole” in their
lives.
She added: “He was so young, no mother or father should have to lose a son. To lose him in such a tragic freak accident is unbearable.
“No words can express the way we feel. We miss him every day.”
In another statement read out to the court, Mr Shackson said he and Tomas worked together in their second-hand car parts business in Morgan Street and would also restore classic cars.
He said: “We enjoyed working together as a family team of father and son.”
Mr Shackson said Tomas bought the Winnebago as he knew if they could get the 7.3-litre engine working it would be a valuable asset.
The engine would not start using the key, so it was decided to bypass the inhibitor safety switch to get the engine going. The van, which was an automatic, was put into park mode so it would not jolt or move forward if and when the engine began working.
Tomas moved underneath the car to work on it, and when given the signal, Mr Shackson poured a small amount of fuel into the carburettor.
Mr Shackson said: “The engine burst into life and all of a sudden the vehicle just shot forward without any warning. It collided with cars in the area before it finally stopped.”
Senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders recorded a conclusion of death caused by a road traffic collision.
She said: “There was some naivety but all actions were understandable and what happened was unforeseeable.”