Death of walker run over at Yorkshire farm was an accident, jury rules
Date of alert:
Thursday, 5 May 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
North Yorkshire Police
The death of a walker who was run over at a farm in North Yorkshire was accidental, an inquest jury has ruled.
Bruce Norman, 71, died at Gillingwood Hall farm, near Gilling West in Richmondshire, on the morning of Sunday, October 28 in 2018.
The retired managing director was run over by a Manitou telehandler – a vehicle used to transport heavy loads – that was being reversed across the courtyard of the farm.
An inquest, held in Harrogate this week, heard he was checking a GPS device while his friend Paul Tomkinson was asking the farm owner for directions.
A post-mortem examination found the father-of-two, who lived in Thornton-le-Beans, had died after suffering extensive pelvic injuries which resulted in severe blood loss.
Farm worker Richard Cookson, who was driving the vehicle, was interviewed by North Yorkshire Police, shortly after the collision.
He told police he saw Mr Tomkinson behind the vehicle before he reversed, but Mr Norman was in a blindspot.
