Flintshire Lorry Yard Death: Trucker Crushed by Rolling Cab in Alltami

A trucker was crushed to death in August 2022 when a lorry cab he was transporting detached from his vehicle and rolled onto him, an inquest at Ruthin Coroner's Court has determined. Thomas Paul Holton Willis, 29, was found deceased in the yard of lorry dealer PD Services in Alltami, Flintshire.

Site manager Paul Porter discovered Mr Willis just after 06:00 BST, pinned beneath one of the tractor units. Mr Porter had briefly left Mr Willis to retrieve equipment to assist with the unloading. Upon his return, he observed a cab had come off the trailer and had dragged Mr Willis approximately 16 metres down a bank.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Willis died rapidly from crush asphyxia. His father, Paul Willis, suggested in court that some straps securing the cab might have come undone, though he maintained there were no issues with how the load was secured for transit from Devon to north Wales.

Mr Willis, who was due to marry and had a young son, was described by his father as a positive and enthusiastic individual with a passion for shire horses. The jury concluded that a "combination of factors" led to the unit rolling off the trailer, resulting in Mr Willis's death.