Hero lorry driver crushed to death by his own runaway vehicle as he tried to stop it crashing into a hospital
Lee Jane, 57, died at the scene as staff at Plymouth hospital raced to save him
A HERO lorry driver was crushed to death by his own runaway vehicle as he tried to stop it crashing into a hospital, an inquest heard.
Lee Jane, 57, was dragged under the skip lorry’s wheels as he desperately attempted to stop it rolling down a hill.
Witnesses described to the inquest how she watched the horror accident before the vehicle smashed into the side of Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
In a written statement to the jury, nurse Ann Hooper said: "I heard a rumbling sound. As I watched I then saw the lorry driver go inward, feet first under the rear part of the lorry.
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"At the same time the lorry was moving off and seemed to be free-wheeling. I saw him get run over by the trailer wheels."
Later she described how she raced to the aid of Mr Jane – whose leg had been severed – and wrapped her hoodie around his head to comfort him.
Other hospital staff joined her to perform CPR on the victim but he died at the scene of the accident in June last year.
Another nurse, Melissa Williams, said she believed he had been attempting to stop the runaway vehicle from crashing into an out building of the hospital that was home to its radio station.
She said: "I believe this male was attempting to do something to stop the vehicle but due to its weight he could not do anything."
Coroner Ian Arrow told the court he would spare some of the details as they were too graphic.
The court heard that Mr Jane was employed by waste firm Viridor.
It was also revealed that the vehicle he was driving had two hand breaks - one for the car and one for the trailer.
The trailer's hand brake is located outside of the car.
The inquest later heard that Mr Jane failed to apply the manual parking brakes on his vehicle - causing it to roll down a hill.
Expert Andrew Honey, a vehicle inspector, said: "There has been a failure someway or another to apply the parking brake on the trailer."
Ian Arrow asked Mr Honey: "So your view is that the parking brake of the trailer was never on?"
Mr Honey replied: "It would certainly appear. There was nothing wrong with the parking brake when it was examined."
He added that he had "encountered it many times" where the parking brake does not get engaged properly by the driver.
A post mortem said the cause of death was multiple internal injuries caused by the skip lorry driver being "dragged under the wheels of the vehicle,"
The injuries included multiple fractures of the ribs, left leg fractures, multiple fractures of the pelvis and a laceration of the scrotum.
A jury of six men and four women were sworn into the inquest which is expected to last three days.
The inquest continues.
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