Tributes to ex-RAF Darlington man crushed by car transporter in Ripon

Phillip Mayhew was showing a new colleague how to use the vehicle when its safety pins jammed, and he took a sledgehammer to them in a bid to fix the problem.

But the 35-year-old was standing on the lower deck of the transporter at the time, and the top deck fell and crushed him, an inquest at Northallerton Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday (July 1). It concluded his death on March 29, 2024, while working at J D Macadam recovery on Boroughbridge Road in Ripon, was a misadventure.

His mum Christine Atkins told the inquest his death “has left a void in our hearts”.

Macadam on Boroughbridge Road, Ripon (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

She said her son had his struggles with PTSD after serving in the RAF, including a tour in Afghanistan, but added “he lit up every room he walked in”.

“He wasn’t just my son, he was my whole world,” she said in her character portrait which told of his love of cars and scuba diving.

“His death was preventable. He had a lovely bond with his sister Samantha; they were best friends, and they were inseparable.

“He will live on in our hearts”.

Northallerton Coroner’s Court (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

The inquest heard Mr Mayhew, who was a vehicle recovery operative, tried to raise the top deck of the vehicle but its safety pins on the side became jammed and didn’t move correctly.

He eventually took a sledgehammer to the pins to try and release them while he was standing on the lower deck of the transporter, with the top deck above him. After the final hit of the sledgehammer, the top deck fell and crushed Mr Mayhew, who had only worked at J D Macadam for two months before his death.

His colleagues “desperately” tried to free him using a crane and a forklift and said they were in “complete shock” following the incident.

His former colleagues James Barker, Mark Pennington, and Daniel McEwan all described the “awful” moment they heard the loud bang that saw the top deck of the transporter fall on Mr Mayhew.

Macadam on Boroughbridge Road, Ripon (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Mr Barker told the inquest of the “panic” of everyone on site after the incident just after 8am.

He added how he was tasked with getting a forklift truck to free Mr Mayhew from the wreckage and attempted to raise the top deck of the transporter from his trapped colleague.

Meanwhile, Mr McEwan described the “horror” of seeing the incident unfold in front of him.

Despite the best efforts of his colleagues, who performed CPR for ten minutes, and emergency services, the 35-year-old died at the scene.

A postmortem examination into Mr Mayhew’s death concluded that he died from multiple injuries, including a skull fracture.

The inquest heard from Phillip’s bosses who reiterated no one was to stand under the top deck of the transporter while operating it, with Carl Jones, an area senior manager for North Yorkshire at Macadam, saying this was his “mantra”.

Phillip Mayhew, 35, was killed on March 29, 2024, at J D Macadam recovery on Boroughbridge Road in Ripon (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

They said Mr Mayhew had undergone 35 hours of additional training, alongside the usual induction, and was shown how to use the vehicle, a DAF LF230.

Aaron Nelson, compliance manager at Macadam, added that training was given to employees “as a matter of course”.

He added that drivers completed daily checks and couldn’t take the vehicles out to a job otherwise.

However, he acknowledged that following the tragic incident in March 2024, training had been stepped up to include more guidance on where to stand while operating the vehicles.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Louise Redgrove, noted there were no clear vehicle defects on the transporter at the time, but said Phillip’s tragic case was most likely down to “human factors”.

However, she said that the HSE had to ensure that Macadam stepped up its training and documented it more thoroughly after noting that there was little “audit trail” on the training before the fatal incident.

A jury concluded: “Phillip Colin Mayhew was walking through operations on a vehicle transporter with his colleagues when the locking pin wheel became jammed. He climbed onto the top deck and then climbed under the bottom deck, hitting the pin lock mechanism with a sledgehammer, causing it to fall and crush him, causing fatal injuries.”