Minibus death of milk round boy was tragic accident, says sheriff

A SHERIFF has ruled that the death of a milk boy who was killed by a minibus as he made early morning deliveries was a tragic accident.

Conor McSherry, 16, suffered fatal head and neck injuries and died instantly on 18 June last year. A fatal accident inquiry into his death in Cleghorn, Lanarkshire, was held at Lanark Sheriff Court last week.

The hearing before Sheriff Nikola Stewart heard evidence from police officers, dairy workers and medical staff who had treated Conor.

The inquiry heard the teenager – who had not been wearing a high-visibility vest – had been seen running on to the A706 road and into the path of a Ford Transit minibus on the day he died.

The vehicle, driven by Francis Keenan, hit Conor, of Carluke, before stopping further down the road.

An investigation had been held to examine the events leading to Conor's death.

Yesterday, a written judgment issued by Sheriff Stewart ruled Conor's death could not have been foreseen.

Conor was employed with Carluke business Miller's Dairy as a milk boy and on the day of the accident he was one of two boys delivering milk from a Ford Transit delivery van.

The van was owned by the dairy and driven by Benjamin Turnbull.

The milk run had started at 4:30am and had stopped to make a delivery in Cleghorn around three hours later when tragedy struck.

Sheriff Stewart said: "While Conor was in breach of management rules in that he was not wearing a high-visibility vest as he made his delivery, the taking of such a precaution would not have prevented this fatality.

"Conor was wearing a white top. A flash of white was seen by Mr Simm and Mr McInnes who were in a vehicle directly behind Mr Keenan's. Conor was, to that extent, visible to road users.

"It was a clear morning. Conor was not seen by Mr Keenan because he emerged at speed from behind the milk delivery van directly into the path of the mini-bus, not because his clothing did not stand out."

She added: "He was seen by those in the delivery van to run past them and straight into the eastbound carriageway.

"He saw the oncoming vehicle too late to avoid it. The mini bus driven by Mr Keenan struck him at bumper level, forcing him to the ground where he was run over by the bus.

"Mr Keenan had no opportunity to see him, never mind take avoiding action.

"No criticism can be levelled against Mr Keenan or the vehicle he was driving."