An inquest has been opened after a man from Northampton was crushed to death by a forklift truck in an horrific accident.
Michael Whateley, a 28-year-old of Eastfield Road in Delapre, died instantly when the truck toppled onto his car at a housing development in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The Health and Safety Executive launched a joint investigation with police to establish what had happened to cause the nine-tonne industrial vehicle to fall over.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police confirmed their coroner’s office had opened and adjourned an inquest following the accident, which took place on Friday.
He said: “Police were at the scene of an industrial incident that occurred at the Linden Homes building site on Broughton Road, Banbury. Three people were involved in the incident.
“A man was pronounced dead at the scene. Health and Safety Executive investigators will undertake a joint investigation with Thames Valley Police. It is understood that the accident happened after the car Mr Whateley was a passenger in had driven on to the building site.
“It was waiting for the truck to finish maneuvering when it toppled on its side and the arm of the truck fell onto the car.
A spokesman for Linden Homes, which is overseeing the development, added: “We can confirm that there was a fatality at the Linden Homes site in Banbury.
“The police are currently on site and the HSE has started an investigation but at this early stage we are not in a position to comment further.”
The site finally re-opened on Tuesday morning and work continued on the new development, which will consist of 18 new four-bedroom homes.
Meanwhile tributes to Mr Whateley have been set up on social networking site Facebook, where a number of his friends and family members have joined an on-line group in his memory.
One friend, Stephen Symons, emailed the Chronicle & Echo to say: “We were friends for several years at school and often bumped into each other in recent years.
“I was shocked at his death and very, very saddened. I liked him very much and always enjoyed his company. He was kind hearted and very easy to get along with.
“I’ll always remember him.”
