Bacup lorry driver unaware of OAP under truck (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Bacup lorry driver unaware of OAP under truck

10:00pm Monday 16th July 2012 in Rossendale By Dan Clough , Reporter

A LORRY driver who hit a pensioner while in stop-start traffic was unaware of the collision until people started banging on the side of his truck.

The 46-year-old Bacup man was driving a lorry for J and J Ormerod Plc, in Wimborne Road, Winton, a suburb of Bournemouth, on Friday when, unbeknown to him, Margaret Howell, 75, stepped out in front of his vehicle.

She was dragged under the wheels of the lorry and later died at Poole Hospital.

Sgt Len Vickery, of Dorset Police, said the man had assisted the police in recovering the woman from beneath the truck.

It is understood police, who are appealing for witnesses to come forward, are treating the incident as a tragic accident.

Sgt Vickery said: “The lorry driver was suddenly aware of people banging on his cab door, shouting for him to stop. He stopped his lorry immediately and was told that a female pedestrian had been hit by the front of his truck and was now under his tractor unit.

“He assisted by immediately raising the suspension of the cab to allow maximum ground clearance for the ambulance to extract the injured pedestrian.

“The lady was taken to Poole General Hospital with leg and head injuries.

“She was conscious and talking and although her injuries appeared serious, there were no immediate concerns for her welfare.

“Unfortunately, during the night, the lady’s condition worsened and she died from her injuries.”

J and J Ormerod employs around 400 people at its headquarters in Bacup.

The company is one of the country’s top manufacturers of kitchens and bedrooms and is a major supplier to many of the leading outlets within the industry.

An inquest is due to be opened into Mrs Howell’s death.