19th October 2026

Vehicle Recovery Engineer Receives Suspended Sentence After Runaway Car Crushes Member Of Public

Sean Baker, a vehicle recovery driver for GRS Recovery Bournemouth, has been handed a 14-week suspended prison sentence following an incident in Bournemouth town centre on 22nd March 2024.

What Happened?

Mr Baker was recovering a Range Rover by way of a flatbed transporter on a public highway that had a steep decline.

He had initially attached a winch from the transporter to the front of the vehicle in order to secure it when the handbrake was released to drag the vehicle onto the flatbed.

However, prior to jacking up the vehicle and placing skates beneath the rear wheels, he had proceeded to remove the connection to the winch.

In the absence of any chocks or breakaway cables, there was no way of preventing the vehicle from rolling down the hill once it had been lowered onto the skates.

Mr Baker was caught at the rear of the rolling vehicle and could not free himself as it proceeded down the incline.

Kai Dransfield, an employee at nearby TGI Fridays, was on a break when he witnessed the incident. He attempted to free Mr Baker but was unfortunately struck by the rolling vehicle and was pulled underneath it.

Mr Dransfield suffered multiple broken bones in his legs and fractures to his spine.

Sentenced

Mr Baker pled guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – the General duties of employees at work.

It was established that he failed to take reasonable care for his own safety and that of others by not following established recovery procedures.

The HSE found that his actions fell below the standard expected of a competent and experienced recovery driver.

‘Fundamental Error’

After sentencing, HSE Inspector Alexander Ashen commented:

‘”Sean Baker was an experienced recovery driver.

“Failing to properly secure a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes on a steep hill was a fundamental error.

“This happened in a busy town centre, close to restaurants and car parks, with vehicles, motorcyclists and pedestrians regularly passing through the area.

“Sean Baker’s failings were substantial; they exposed everyone nearby to risk and resulted in a member of the public, who stepped in to help, suffering life-changing injuries.”

Safe Systems Of Work

This incident highlights the dangers of operatives veering away from established risk assessment and safe systems of work guidelines.

The fact that in this instance, the employee, as opposed to the employer, was prosecuted, suggests that Mr Baker operated outside of established company and industry protocol.

It is vital that employers take steps to regularly communicate risk assessments and safe operating procedures, along with checking their application in real-world environments, to ensure their continued understanding and adherence to them by employees.