Who was Trevor Bailey? Man dies on his way to hospital after ambulance crashes into wall
POCKLINGTON, UNITED KINGDOM: A suspected heart attack patient died in the back of an ambulance when it crashed into a wall on the way to the hospital. Trevor Bailey, of Pocklington near Hull, died from severe head and chest injuries when the emergency vehicle crashed while trying to overtake an HGV. In a statement, his wife Jane Bailey said, “As he left he told me 'don’t worry about me I will be fine, just look after yourself,'" according to Daily Mail.
Trevor Bailey, also known as Trev, was chatting with paramedics and walked to the ambulance before being placed on a stretcher despite his serious condition. The inquest into Trev’s death, being held in Hull, heard how the ambulance was heading along the A1079 towards Castle Hill Hospital. Hull Live reported the HGV’s offside rear indicator was not working. It had veered slightly to the left before turning which the medical care assistant Gemma Sumners, who was driving, assumed meant he going that way. But the HGV started to turn right and the ambulance had to swerve out of the way before hitting the brick wall at the entrance to a yard.
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Sumners was trapped and the paramedic in the back David Butterfield was knocked unconscious and spent four weeks in hospital. Bailey died at the scene due to the extreme severity of the injuries. In a statement, his wife said, "As he left he told me 'don't worry about me I will be fine, just look after yourself."
"We did not realize how much Trev did for everyone. It is only once he was taken away from us that we realized just how much he did. He was very much a family man and he would do anything for anyone. He was someone anyone could turn to for advice," she continued as she paid tribute to her late husband.
Pathologist Dr Christopher Johnson did find evidence of severe heart disease which would probably have been responsible for Bailey's symptoms but he confirmed that did not contribute to his death. The pathologist confirmed the cause of death was severe chest and head injuries due to a road traffic collision.
The inquest also heard that neither Bailey nor Butterfield were properly strapped in at the time of the collision. Butterfield gave evidence at the inquest. He said he had been a paramedic for 39 years. He was badly injured in the collision, suffering a severe chest injury and a number of rib fractures. He remained at Leeds General Infirmary for almost a month. He told the inquest he could not remember anything from leaving the front door of the Bailey home to two and a half weeks later other than a vague recollection of lying on the road.
Butterfield said he would normally be strapped in and the patient would be harnessed on the stretcher. But he admitted he cannot remember if Bailey was fully harnessed and suggested he may have been standing himself up at the time to attend to Bailey.
Bailey was strapped in around his shins and groin but not the harness on the upper body which goes over the shoulders and around the waist.
Sumners told the inquest how she was fully trained and had embarked on a four-week ambulance driving training course which she passed with flying colors. On April 22, 2021, she helped Bailey into the ambulance on a stretcher and strapped him in around his shins and groin but not the harness on the upper body which goes over the shoulders and around the waist. During the journey, she heard Butterfield and Bailey chatting in the back but never saw her colleague stand up and no serious issues had arisen. She had the blue lights and sirens on at the time.
On her decision to overtake the truck, she said, “A car had indicated and pulled over so I know it had seen me. I noticed the truck seemed to veer to the left so I thought it had seen me. I never saw it indicate and so I felt it was safe to overtake. When it began to turn I swerved to avoid hitting the truck and decided not to turn into the entrance as I feared we would roll over.”
The driver of the HGV, John Hilton, told the inquest he had been driving HGVs since 2007. He said he carried out a test on the lights that morning and found no defects. There was nothing in the dashboard warning him of any problems.
Area Coroner Lorraine Harris warned Hilton that he did not have to answer any questions he felt could incriminate him. He said he indicated but declined to say whether he looked in his mirror before turning. He also declined to say whether he heard the sirens or saw the ambulance prior to the crash.
Witnesses coming towards the HGV described seeing the HGV indicate to turn right into the yard and then saw the ambulance overtaking and then swerve before hitting the wall. One driver said he had pulled over to let the ambulance past before seeing it overtake the HGV and crash into the wall.
HGV technician David Stephenson carried out tests on the vehicle involved and found that the offside rear indicator was not working and also that the defect did not show up on the dashboard.
Further evidence was due to be heard on August 8, before Harris was supposed to deliver her conclusion. MEAWW will keep you updated on the new developments.