1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212 
Driver phoned as his brakes failed
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by David Jeffels • A truck driver tried to give emergency advice by mobile phone to a panicking colleague after his brakes failed on a steep hill, an inquest heard.
North Yorkshire coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict of accidental death on LGV driver Shaun David Whitehouse of Carlow Street, Middlesbrough, who died in hospital from multiple injuries soon after the crash on Blue Bank Hill in Sleights, near Whitby.
Andrew Cooper, a driver employed by the same company as Whitehouse, told the inquest at Nortonon-Derwent, North Yorkshire that the two men had spoken on their mobile phones before the accident. Whitehouse had rung him saying he thought his brakes were failing but the call cut out.
In a second call Whitehouse said he believed the air line which activated the brakes was faulty. Cooper added: "He started getting panicky and asked what he should do. I told him to try the dead man's brake and he threw the phone on the dashboard." Whitehouse' s final message to Cooper was that his brake was not working.
PC Timothy Alderson said Whitehouse was hauling a tanker of waste oil and water. He added that the vehicle's brake drums were still hot 90 minutes later in spite of being cooled by firefighters.
Alderson said he believed the brakes failed because there was no reserve of compressed air in the system.
Whitehouse would not have been able to get into the escape lane on Blue Bank, he told the inquest, because of his speed and position on the road.
1-1 There have been a number of run
away truck accidents on Blue Bank; local councillors have been pressing for improved signs on the hill, which is used extensively by trucks travelling between Teesside and North Yorkshire.