Inquest hears man, 60, died after being crushed at East Bridgford housing site

Nigel Williamson, 60, died after being crushed at the Kneeton Grove housing development in East Bridgford, an inquest at Nottingham Coroners' Court heard on Monday. Williamson was working as a delivery driver for KRM Building Supplies when the incident occurred on 13 August last year. He had been employed by the company for about two and a half weeks.

The jury was told that a supervisor who would normally accompany new drivers for a six-week period was on leave, and no replacement had been arranged. Earlier that day, at around 07:00 BST, Williamson made a delivery to the home of Adam Reville, a director of Truck Loads, the company that supplies and services cranes to KRM.

In his evidence, Reville said he noticed Williamson had not pressed an emergency stop button, which would have prevented the crane from moving while he prepared items to unload. The crane then made an 'unwanted movement', prompting Reville to shout at Williamson. Reville told the inquest he warned Williamson that continuing to operate that way could end up killing him, but said Williamson was 'very competent' for the rest of the delivery.

Williamson arrived at the Peveril Homes housing development in East Bridgford at about 15:00 to deliver bags of gravel. Simon Green, a forklift driver on the site, said he directed Williamson to the correct location. He was later flagged down by a colleague due to an incident involving Williamson.

Green told the inquest he found Williamson lying on the flatbed of the lorry and asked if he was alright. 'He said he was crushed,' Green said, adding that Williamson kept saying 'crushed, crane'. A colleague who called 999 was initially told the wait for an ambulance would be two hours, and shouted for it to hurry up. An ambulance arrived shortly after workers began CPR on Williamson, who had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Forensic pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told the jury that Williamson had significant injuries to his pelvic area and lower abdomen, consistent with being crushed. Williamson had previously suffered a heart attack and had a stent fitted. Hamilton concluded that the pelvic injuries led to the cardiac arrest, while Williamson's heart problems contributed to his death. He added that the severity of Williamson's heart health would not have caused the cardiac arrest, and the pelvic injuries alone would not have caused immediate death. The inquest continues.