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01
Jul
Former RAF man crushed under car transporter in Ripon, inquest hears
A former RAF man was crushed by the top deck of a vehicle transporter in Ripon, an inquest has heard.
Phillip Mayhew, 35, of Darlington, was showing a colleague at Macadam vehicle recovery garage on Boroughbridge Road around the transporter on the morning of March 29, 2024.
An inquest at North Yorkshire and York Coroners Court in Northallerton today (July 1) heard that, as Mr Mayhew tried to raise the top deck of the vehicle, its safety pins became jammed and would not move correctly.
The inquest, which was overseen by assistant coroner, Catherine Devereux, heard that the 35-year-old spoke to a colleague about the issue before taking a sledgehammer to the pins to try and release them while stood under the raised deck.
After hitting the pins, the top deck then fell on Mr Mayhew and crushed him.
Colleagues tried to rescue Mr Mayhew, a former Royal Air Force man who joined the company in January 2024 and was employed as a vehicle recovery technician, by performing CPR until the emergency services arrived.
However, paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene at 8.41am.
Northallerton coroner's court
Ms Devereux said a post-mortem found that the Darlington man had died from “multiple injuries" as a result of the crush.
Daniel McEwan, who Mr Mayhew was showing around the transporter, said in a written statement that the incident was “instantaneous”.
The inquest also heard from Carl Jones, area service manager at Macadams who was responsible for training Mr Mayhew.
Mr Jones said Mr Mayhew had been given training over how to work the transporter and was signed off to operate the vehicle in February 2024. He added that all employees had been told not to get under the raised deck under any circumstances.
He said:
I showed him [Mr Mayhew] the working of the vehicle. I made it clear that we do not go under the raised deck. There is no need to because it is dangerous.
Mr Jones told the inquest that, since the incident, more guidance had been issued over where to stand while operating the vehicle.
Mr Jones added that Mr Mayhew was a “huge asset” to the company and a “brilliant worker”.
Meanwhile, Louise Redgrove, a Health and Safety Executive inspector, said there were no clear vehicle defects on the transporter at the time of the incident.
However, the HSE did send an “improvement notice” to the company to improve and document staff training to ensure an “audit trail”.
Macadams had since complied with the improvements, the inquest heard, including implementing warning signs on vehicles which stated that staff should not to go under the raised deck.
The inquest continues.
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