THE father of a four-year-old girl was left with life threatening injuries after a tractor load smashed through the windscreen of his car, pinning him to the driver's seat.

The driver of the Nissan Qashqai, a Mr Hancock, was crushed by a box of potatoes and spent three days in intensive care following the accident at Mawnan Smith in April 2020. His four-year-old daughter was in the back seat.

Jordan Morris, 20, from Penhallow appeared via video link at Truro Magistrates Court on Tuesday (January 25) and pleaded guilty to using a motor vehicle/trailer with equipment likely to cause danger or injury following the accident at Mawnan Smith on April 4, 2020.

Another charge of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road in a public place without due care and attention was dismissed by a judge at Truro Crown Court.

Prosecuting for the Crown, Alison May told the court that there had been other charges through the crown court process but this offence was the only one to be dealt with, the other matters have not been proceeded with.

She said there had also been proceedings against the operator of the vehicle but those had been stopped yesterday (January 24).

Mrs May told the court the fourth of April was a Saturday and at 10.30am there was call to the police to a traffic accident at Penwarne Road near Mawnan Smith.

A tractor driven by Morris pulling a two axle Marston Flatbed Trailer registered to Pengelly Farms Ltd, and transporting seed potatoes, had collided with a Nissan Qashqai driven by Mr Hancock whose daughter was in the back.

 

The scene of the crash in Mawnan Smith

The scene of the crash in Mawnan Smith

Mr Hancock was travelling towards Mawnan Smith while Mr Morris was travelling in the opposite direction from a field where he had just picked up 14 wooden boxes full of seed potatoes.

They encountered each other as a left hand bend merges into a straight section. As it entered the straight section of the road, the load from the trailer came off on the offside as Mr Hancock was driving past. Both the tractor and the trailer overturned.

"He [Mr Hancock] said it appeared to be loaded quite high looked like it was wobbly," said Ms May. "He said as it came round the bend he saw the load overbalance. He saw it tip and the load toppled and at that point he was stuck. There was nowhere for him to go.

"He described that the windscreen was smashed, a plank of wood from one of those crates came through the windscreen and came to rest pressing against his chest. Crushing into his upper body and pinning him to his driver's seat.

"There was nowhere for him to go to stop or avoid it. He was ultimately removed to hospital and spent six nights in Derriford, three in intensive care and three on the ward before being sent home."

 

The scene of the crash in Mawnan Smith

The scene of the crash in Mawnan Smith

Mr Hancock was left with significant injuries with damage to his right lung which was partially collapsed and he had a bleed. There were six ribs on his right side broken, some multiple times, his right elbow was shattered and his forearm bone was protruding from his skin. He had numerous abrasions, cuts and bruising.

A police vehicle examiner found no defects on the tractor but examined the trailer and found that the braking system had not been correctly adjusted and there was excessive movement in the linkages which resulted in a reduced "braking effect".

A report from Health and Safety Executive found the load was not secured properly with the three straps used which lead to "catastrophic" failure of the load.

Joseph Cheminais, defending, told the court that Morris was a man of previous good character who was a self employed tractor driver. There had been no further incidents of this nature or any nature.

"He still works as a tractor driver been farming all of his life and his intention was to take over his grandfather's farm one day," he said. "He has taken steps to improve his knowledge regarding vehicle maintenance and loading and he is due to attend a course on safe vehicle loading in the near future."

He said the procedure had taken its toll on his client who had been in court five times since the incident including a two day trial before a judge.

Fining Morris £118, costs of £85 and a surcharge of £32. The chair of the bench told Morris: "This is a truly life changing incident for the gentleman in the vehicle it must have been truly horrific for him knowing his child was also in the car.

"However, what has happened has happened and I think there'll be a ripple effect to what has happened to you because I am certain that none of your colleagues now would ever allow a tractor trailer to leave a field without knowing that the boxes on it were strapped on properly and I think it has probably been a huge learning curve for the tractor drivers."

There was no endorsement of his licence.