Deaths in 2006

Click on the names below for further case details

Back to Top

FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Robert fell from height while checking a faulty elevating platform that had just been delivered.

The inquest is to be held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.

Back to Table (2006)

Graham was crushed between the wall of the house and a delivery wagon as it reversed into the yard of his home, where he was working on a barn conversion. Graham ran the family paving firm Johnsons 4 Tarmac.

Graham was pinned against the wall, and sustained severe injuries to his chest, head and abdomen. He died at the scene. The wall itself was also heavily damaged.

The inquest was held at the North Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court sitting at at Pickering Magistrates Court on 30 June 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The hearing was told that self-employed driver John Housley was delivering a load of brick paving stones to the yard behind Graham's house. The DAF articulated lorry, towing a trailer, arrived at about 6pm. Mr Housley tried to negotiate the narrow driveway beside the house, with Graham directing him with a torch.

Mr Housley told the inquest, 'Graham was behind me, and shouted: "OK, drive". I checked both my mirrors and my rear view camera. I pulled forward so what Graham must have done is try to run and beat me between my trailer and the house. All I heard as I was pulling forward was a groan. I pressed on my brakes. I jumped out of the lorry and saw Graham slumped there.'

Police collision investigator Steve Kirkbright told the inquest he believed Graham had been trying to signal to Mr Housley to stop as the trailer swung round towards his house. PC Kirkbright said, 'Mr Johnson, on realising that the trailer was going to collide with the wall, has moved forward and attempted to signal to Mr Housley by waving the torch towards the offside mirror.'

But he said an outdoor security light could have been shining into that same mirror, making Graham's signal impossible to see.

PC Kirkbright added, 'As to why Mr Johnson chose to move into the gap (between the wall and the lorry), I can only surmise he had not anticipated the vehicle would have moved towards the wall.'

Back to Table (2006)

Geoffrey, a peat worker, suffered fatal injuries when he was crushed in a huge baling machine. He was found trapped in the machine, which had been packing bark chippings for the Focus DIY chain, on the night shift of March 2 and died four days later in Doncaster Royal Infirmary from crush injuries to his chest.

None of his colleagues saw or heard the incident and Geoffrey was discovered a few minutes afterwards when some of them returned from a meal break.

The inquest was held at the South Yorkshire East Coroner's Court on 15 January 2008 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Richard Noble told the jury he believed Geoffrey had gone through a safety gate, which should have been locked electrically, to check on a problem and a sensor had started up the machine because it thought he was another bag and he was trapped under an arm used to lift empty bags.

It would have taken almost five minutes for the machine to stop completely.

Attached to the gate was a hand-written notice on a piece of cardboard which said 'Gate switch not connected. Do not open gate', which had been there for at least five days before the incident.

Doncaster Coroner Stanley Hooper said the machine must have stopped for some reason and Geoffrey must have entered the danger zone through the gate and accidentally operated one of the sensors causing the machine to start up again.

After the hearing, Gordon's brother David said they were awaiting a further report from the HSE before deciding if they would take any action against the company.

HSE say they are still considering whether there will be a prosecution of Scotts for breaches of health and safety legislation in relation to the unlocked gate.

Back to Table (2006)

Keith, a machinist, was crushed and killed while working at Bifrangi, an Italian owned vehicle component company, Grange Mill Lane, Sheffield.

The medical cause of death was asphyxia due to crushing of he chest.

The inquest was held at the South Yorkshire West District Coroner's Court on 10 March 2007 when a Narrative verdict was returned.

The jury found that Keith probably entered the enclosure of the machine he was operating via a gap at the rear in order to change the drill and that he was crushed by the drilling arm against the carousel during the operation of the machine.

Back to Table (2006)

Francis died when he fell from a forklift truck he was using for access to a lorry at Joda Freight, a road haulage business, in Skipton.

The inquest is to be held at the North Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.

In April 2007 it was reported that the police were still considering a possible manslaughter prosecution.

Back to Table (2006)

Mahmood, a taxi driver, was stabbed and beaten to death. He had a stab wound to his chest and his body was dumped at the side of Slack Lane, Oakworth. He had also been beaten about the head with some kind of blunt instrument.

The detective heading the murder inquiry, Supt Paul Kennedy, said he was 'extremely keen' to identify the man he suspects was Mahmood's last passenger.

Supt Kennedy of the Homicide and Major Inquiry Team said the man was caught on CCTV climbing into a silver vehicle the police believe could have been Mahmood's Vauxhall Vectra.

Mahmood had driven to the location, at the junction of Oakworth Road and Malsis Road, Keighley, to collect the man.

Any inquest would to be held at West Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court.

On 2 May 2006 Steven Cullen appeared before Bingley magistrates on Tuesday, charged with Mahmood's murder. He was remanded in custody for nine days to appear at Bradford Crown Court.

Mahmood's murder was one of three taxi drivrs in Yorkshire in a period twelve months (see M ohammad Parvaiz and Younis Khan (click here for details).

Back to Table (2006)

Aymen died in a gas explosion at a kebab shop in Hull in which three other people were hurt.

Three premises were badly damaged in the blast at Bishop Alcock Road in the early hours of Thursday which could be heard up to five miles away. About 20 families had to leave their homes and up to 30 houses were damaged. A Humberside Fire Service spokesman had earlier said the body was trapped under tonnes of collapsed roofing.

Aymen's body was recovered from the wrecked shop after engineers had made the building safe but remained unidentified for two months.

Aymen came to the UK from Egypt in September 2000 and lived under a false identity, claiming to be an asylum seeker from Iraq.

Interpol helped to trace his family and DNA samples confirmed his identity.

The cause of the suspected gas explosion is still being investigated.

A 43-year-old man from Hull was arrested on 3 July 2006 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to defraud. He was released on police bail, pending further inquiries.

The inquest was to be held at East Riding and Hull Coroner’s Court on a date yet to be set.

Back to Table (2006)

Mohammad was working a cab driver in Huddersfield, Kirklees, when he was battered to death in an alleged racist attack. Six teenagers have been charged with Mohammad's murder.

Most of the 3,000 taxi drivers in Kirklees staged a a seven-hour strike to promote their demands for greater protection. The drivers said they wanted more protection from the police and a quicker response to cases of abuse and violence.

A spokesman for Kirklees Private Hire Association said if steps were not taken to improve security, there could be further strikes. Kirklees Council said, 'The council and the police have a good relationship of long standing with local taxi drivers and we are happy to meet with them to discuss what their current concerns are.'

Supt Nigel Hibbert, of West Yorkshire Police Kirklees Division, said, 'In terms of responding to incidents involving taxi drivers we assess every call we get and we will respond appropriately. When hate incidents are reported to us they are treated extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated.'

In February 2007 four teenagers were jailed for the racially-aggravated murder of Mohammad

Christopher Murphy and Michael Hand, both aged 19, were given minimum jail terms of 25 and 21 years by judge Dame Heather Steel at Leeds Crown Court. Graeme Slavin, 18, and Steven Utley, 17, were sentenced to 17 years for their part in the attack. Michael Beeby, 16, and Jason Harris, 17, were cleared of murder last month but convicted of violent disorder.

Beeby received a 10-month detention and training order. Harris received an eight-month detention and training order.

Judge Steel said it was a joint attack in which they all took part, but Hand and Murphy were the ringleaders - whereas Utley and Slavin played a lesser part. She said, 'Mr Parvaiz sustained a serious head wound, from which he was bleeding profusely when he was attacked from the driver's side and dragged out to be kicked and beaten to death. Violence on this scale is savage beyond belief. It is not difficult to imagine the terror that Mr Parvaiz must have experienced as he lay dying on the road,' she added.

She added that it was not just the lives of Mr Parvaiz's family that had been 'completely devastated' but also their own and their families'.

Dame Steel said the court had heard 'lies', 'half truths' and 'some of the truth' from Murphy, Utley and Slavin when they took the stand during the trial. 'Some parts of the evidence will never be explained,' she said.

After the sentencing, Det Supt Tim Forber, of West Yorkshire Police, said, 'I don't think I've ever come across anything so utterly mindless. This just wasn't an ordinary event. It wasn't typical of the ordinary type of issues that taxi drivers face. This was a premeditated plan, it was a savage attack. As far as Mr Parvaiz's family are concerned, the length of the sentences, it's not going to bring him back. The pain still goes on and it always will.'

Mohammad's wife, Naheed Kausar, attended almost every day of the trial. Speaking outside court, her brother Mohammed Ramzan said, 'We are very happy with the result. Justice has been served. People have been sentenced according to the evidence. We believe the truth has come out.'

After the death of Mahmood Ahmed and Younis Khan (click here for details) in March 2007, the third taxi driver to be murdered in Yorkshire in the preceding twelve months, the editor of trade magazine Taxi-Today, Tony Mite, said he believed the profession had become the 'most dangerous' in the country. He said attacks happened at any time during the day and night.

Mr Mite said more needed to be done to protect taxi drivers. 'Drivers are being abused on the school run right up until kicking out times of the pubs. They are asking for cameras and also asking for anything else that can be done to bring down the numbers of incidents.'

Installing CCTV cameras into taxis was crucial to reducing attacks on drivers, he said. 'The biggest problem is the funding of the CCTV, but it is going to give them a lot of security. If there is an issue within the vehicle it picks up the speech, it picks up the pictures and can be used later in any court case. It is a big issue, I believe it is the most dangerous job now going - that includes the police and firemen - where more people are injured and verbally abused and even killed.'

Back to Table (2006)

Martin, a heavy goods vehicle driver, was preparing for work early one morning at Vernon Land Transport on Tong Park Industrial Estate, off Otley Road, Baildon. He was outside the vehicle checking it was safe to drive but he tried to return to the cabin when the emergency brake system shutdown, which it is designed to do when air pressure is restored to the trailer, and the vehicle moved forward.

Paramedics were called but Martin was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on 26 February 2008 when a verdict of death by 'Misadventure' was returned.

A colleague, Kevin Page, discovered him trapped between two trucks. Mr Page told the inquest, 'I heard a sudden change in the engine and it was slowly moving forward and I thought "it's going to hit my wagon". It went straight into it.'

PC Phil Jackson, who investigated the incident, said, 'In the cab was an automatic warning bleeper which was sounding - a safety device that sounds if the driver opens a door, with the engine running and the handbrake off. It is not a safe situation to have a vehicle in. What appears to have happened is that precautions have not been followed, he has found himself outside of his vehicle and there is nothing holding the vehicle in place.'

He said the vehicle, which was new and in full working order, was parked on a slight incline, enough for it to roll.

Julian Franklin, an inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, said, 'All we know is that the handbrake was off, the trailer brake was off, the airlines were connected and the engine was running. The exact chain of events that then happened, we don't know. HGV drivers should engage the parking brake, but my experience is that very few drivers actually do.'

Mr Franklin praised the haulage firm, whose director, Vernon Land, appeared visibly distressed at the inquest. He said, 'Vehicles were maintained to a high standard. I would have no concerns about the management of the company.'

Mr Land said Martin was also a friend, 'It is a small business and we are all quite close. Since Martin's death we have been very conscious that the brakes are on. I'm just sorry it happened.'

Back to Table (2006)