Heathrow builder crushed to death by truck brother was driving in 'tragic collision'
Philip Griffiths' brother tried to brake but foot was stuck under the pedal, inquest hears
Robert Cumber
The dumper truck which was being driven by Philip Griffiths' brother
A construction worker at Heathrow was crushed to death by a truck driven by his brother who was unable to brake in time, an inquest heard.
Philip Griffiths was working on a car park near the airport's Terminal 2 in the early hours of October 2 2014, when the "tragic collision" occurred.
His brother Robert Paul Griffiths was reversing a dumper truck when Philip became trapped between the vehicle and a hydraulic platform, known as a scissor lift, West London Coroner's Court heard on Monday, June 13.
'Foot trapped under brake pedal'
Robert said he had tried to apply the brakes when his foot became trapped under the brake pedal, jurors heard.
The brothers had been attempting to tow the broken-down scissor lift machine, which was blocking a service road, the court was told.
The scissor lift machine at the scene of the fatal collision
Philip Griffiths, who was 38 and lived in Anglesey, Wales, was pronounced dead at the scene, with a post-mortem later giving the cause of death as a crush injury to the chest.
The court heard how the brothers had been working as pipe-layers for the construction firm Laing O'Rourke on the night in question.
'Wouldn't give up until job was done'
Ieuan Evans, who worked as a machine operator for Select Plant Hire, a subsidiary of Laing O'Rourke, told the court how after initial attempts at towing failed he had left the scene, understanding that an engineer was being called to fix the equipment.
He said he thought Philip and Robert were following him but when he realised they weren't he assumed they were "giving it another go".
"They wouldn't give up until the job was done. That's the kind of boys they were," he added.
The collision happened close to the taxi and shuttle bus ranks outside the pedestrian entrance to Heathrow Terminal 2 (Image: Google)
Robert said his brother made a couple of attempts to shift the scissor lift before he took over.
He told the court he was not aware of anyone telling them to stop.
He said his brother had shortened the "strop", connecting the vehicles, in a bid to aid their efforts and he had been reversing slowly when the collision happened.
'Never met a nicer guy'
PC Simon Palmer, of the Met 's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said subsequent inspections identified a number of faults with the scissor lift but no "contributory" defects to either vehicle which may have led to the collision.
He said the height of the dumper truck meant the driver's rear view would have been limited, and marks on the vehicle suggested Philip may have been crouching down when he was hit, making him harder to spot.
DS Jane Mallett, also of the SCIU, said an investigation concluded it was a "tragic collision", and no criminal charges were made.
Philip's father Robert John Griffiths described his son in a statement read out in court as a "happy-go-lucky" man who would "do anything for anybody".
"He was hard-working and always reliable, and he was a bit of a charmer. People have told me they've never met a nicer guy than Philip," he added.
The jury, sitting before Chinyere Inyama, senior coroner for west London, recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
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