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Teenager died after stunts on forklift truck
A teenager who died when a fork-lift truck he was driving toppled over was seen to be spinning it before the accident.
Joey Knowles was driving the defective truck around his uncle's construction yard at AMV construction when the vehicle upended, throwing him out and trapping him beneath it.
The 17-year-old suffered fatal crush injuries to his body which stopped him breathing and he died before emergency services reached the yard in Twyford Avenue, Tipner, Portsmouth.
A jury at an inquest into his death, on April 29 last year, was told yesterday how Mr Knowles, who was working as a construction labourer, would drive the fork-lift truck around the yard, even though he was not old enough or trained to do so.
It was during a sharp turn that the truck was seen to topple and a heavy bar from the safety cage – designed to keep the driver safe – crushed Mr Knowles.
An investigation found the truck to have several defects, including problems with steering, an unsecured driver's seat and brakes that were '100 per cent ineffective'.
Karen Morris, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, said: 'The cage is there to protect operators but it relies on the seat being fixed firmly in place and also the operator wearing a seatbelt, there wasn't one to wear.'
The jury was also told that Mr Knowles was seen on CCTV spinning the vehicle before it overturned.
His older brother, Jay Knowles, told the inquest he had been helping Joey in the yard in the morning before going off on a job. Joey had been left behind to tidy the yard – a job he hated and got bored of so would sometimes amuse himself in the truck.
His brother said: 'I did tell him not to drive it, especially when he did a spin and jumped out of it while it was still moving.
'I went back to the yard later that morning and saw him on the fork-lift and told him it was dangerous, he said "don't worry I'll be all right".
'I wish I'd tried harder now.'
The jury recorded a verdict of accidental death.
The HSE is continuing its investigation.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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