COURT SENTENCES RECOVERY DRIVER OVER RUNAWAY RANGE ROVER

Bournemouth Crown Court sentenced Sean Baker, a driver for GRS Recovery Bournemouth, to 14 weeks in prison, suspended for one year, after he failed to secure a Range Rover during a recovery operation. The two-tonne vehicle rolled down Exeter Crescent on 22 March 2024, dragging Baker and striking Kai Dransfield as he tried to help. Dransfield was on a break from his job at TGI Fridays when he saw Baker caught beneath a rear wheel. “He made eye contact with me, and my first thought was to just grab him to try and help him,” Dransfield said.

The Range Rover pulled Dransfield underneath it and rolled over both his legs. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said he suffered multiple broken bones in his legs and fractures to his spine. Its investigation found that Baker initially attached a winch to the front of the vehicle, which would have stopped it rolling if the handbrake failed or was released. Baker then removed the winch, jacked up the Range Rover and placed skates beneath its rear wheels. He did not secure the wheels with chocks or attach breakaway cables before lowering the vehicle onto the skates, the HSE said.

The HSE concluded that Baker failed to take reasonable care for his safety and that of others by departing from established recovery procedures. It also found that his actions fell below the standard expected of an experienced recovery driver. Baker later pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of health and safety legislation. Dransfield continues to experience chronic pain and difficulty walking more than two years after the incident.