Father accidentally crushes three-year-old son to death while reversing his Land Rover
A farmer, Dewi Williams, accidentally crushed his three-year-old son to death on a farm near Llanybydder in Camarthenshire. His boy, Evan Lloyd Williams, had apparently opened the doors of their Land Rover and had fallen out. Unfortunately, Dewi was a bit too late to notice that and accidentally drove his Land Rover over the boy who immediately succumbed to his injuries on October 21, 2018, an inquest heard.
Dewi was trying to reverse the 4x4 down a steep lane around a bend and his wife Sian Elin Williams who was standing on the left side of the road with their daughter was trying to instruct Dewi during the reverse turn, reports Daily Mail. The family was apparently on their way to deliver 40 sheep in a trailer when the accident happened. Reportedly, the Land Rover was not fitted with any restraint mechanisms and that might have caused the loss in control of the heavy vehicle. Sgt. Shane Davies from Dyfed-Powys Police mentioned that probably Evan had fallen on the ground and then been run over, causing catastrophic injuries.
He further explained that in any scenario it would be logical to know that the handle of the door was manually operated for it to open, and while reversing downhill it sped up the door's opening as it caused Evan to drop out of the car.
Davies said, "It was difficult to reverse, there were obstructions on both sides. It would have been sensible to have someone on the offside of the vehicle. During the maneuver for some unknown reason, Evan was crushed under the rear wheel of the vehicle." An inquest jury heard that they should have had a 'banksman' in order to keep a watch on the offside so that such mishaps would be avoided.
Following his death, Evan's headteacher Nia Lloyd Thomas said: "His loss will be felt massively across the entire school community, who were witness to his personality and beautiful nature." at the time of the incident, Dewi was towing a three-and-a half ton two-story trailer at Ceunant Farm, Llanybydder. On the other hand, Carmarthenshire Coroner Mark Layton said, "Evan's death at such a young age is such a terrible tragedy, the family has my heartfelt sympathy." The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.