Retired Shropshire scout leader died after a fall when his car reversed off the back of a recovery truck, inquest hears
A retired scout leader from Shropshire died after breaking his hip when his car was reversed off a recovery truck in Oswestry.
Peter Frank Hegenbarth, aged 88, was seen tumbling and then lying in agony on the “freezing cold” road in Oswestry.
The incident happened after he called for roadside assistance when he and his wife Mavis became stranded after their car broke down.
An inquest into his death was held at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury, where it was said that a witness shouted at recovery truck driver Julian Stone: “You’ve hit him!”
However, there was no dashcam or CCTV footage, and none of the witnesses could be positive when they spoke to police that they saw the car hit Mr Hegenbarth before he fell.
Detective Constable Richard Owen confirmed that West Mercia Police consulted the Crown Prosecution Service but the force were advised there was not a realistic prospect of conviction of Mr Stone for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving.
Couple were heading to Oswestry town centre
The court was told that Mr and Mrs Hegenbarth, who lived in Ellesmere, had set off for Oswestry town centre on the morning of January 9 this year but their Citroen Berlingo later broke down.
Two men pushed the vehicle into Gobowen Road for them before Mr Hegenbarth called for roadside help.
Mr Stone attended, having struggled to initially find the Hegenbarths due to being sent eight miles away to St Martins.
In a prepared statement, Mr Stone said he believed there was a problem with the starter motor of the Citroen.
“He (Mr Hegenbarth) stated his wife was diabetic and she needed to go to the toilet,” Mr Stone said. “My girlfriend is diabetic so I had some sympathy. I wanted to help them get home.”
Mr Stone decided to try and “bump-start” the Citroen by winching it up onto his truck and then rolling it backwards, hoping that would kick the engine into life and Mr and Mrs Hegenbarth could get home without their car being towed.
