Chester man walks free after causing death in ‘horrible and tragic accident’

A garage worker from Chester who caused the death of a man after accidentally reversing his pickup into him has walked free from court. A judge today said the "horrible and tragic accident" was avoidable.

Nigel Sedgewick, a 65-year-old husband and grandfather, was killed when Paul Davies reversed into him driving a Ford Ranger pickup. Mr Sedgewick, a delivery driver, was due to retire imminently.

The judge said Davies, of Beaumont Close, Chester, carried out the manoeuvre in an unsafe fashion when he pulled out from a bay at the Evans Halshaw Ford Transit Centre on Chester ^[1] Road, Bretton, on May 3, 2022. He hit Mr Sedgewick, who had paused to look at his phone, Mold Crown Court heard.

Mr Sedgewick became trapped under the 4x4, reports NorthWalesLive ^[3]. Davies said he felt the pickup become "sluggish" but reversed once more.

The defendant got out, and, realising what had happened, called for help. Mr Sedgewick was pronounced dead at Countess of Chester Hospital ^[4] that day after sustaining injuries the court heard were "unsurvivable".

Today tributes were paid to the "amazing" and "kind" 65-year-old husband and grandfather, of Formby Way, Bloxwich, Walsall in the West Midlands. He had been looking forward to travelling and spending time with his grandson during his fast-approaching retirement.

The judge said he was "constrained" by sentencing guidelines, handing Davies an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, for causing death by careless driving. Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy said Mr Sedgewick had picked up a vehicle from Wolverhampton and delivered it to the Bretton garage.

At about 8.30am that day Davies reversed the Ford Ranger and knocked over the deliveryman before reversing again. The defendant got out and, as helpers used hydraulic equipment to lift the Ford Ranger, performed CPR himself on the casualty, said Ms Badrawy.

Emergency services were called but Mr Sedgewick died in hospital shortly after 10am. Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers found he died from severe chest injury with crush asphyxia as a result of a road traffic accident.

A forensic collision investigator said Mr Sedgewick may have been preoccupied with what was on his phone. He had had his back to the Ford Ranger and its sound may have been masked by the noise of traffic on the A5104 Chester approach road a mile away.

Davies, who had performed the manoeuvre "hundreds if not thousands of times", told police: "The vehicle felt sluggish, like something was disrupting momentum.

"I got out and saw a foot at the back. I saw this man lying face up." He sends his condolences to his family, the court heard.

In a statement, widow Christina Sedgewick called her late husband "amazing and hard working". The former market trader's death had been a "sad and devastating loss".

Elder son Michael wrote of his dad's "humour, advice and companionship". Younger son James said simply: "My dad was my hero and best friend. I will never recover from losing my dad."

Mr Sedgewick's sister Clare Abbott said she is "broken to the core" at his death and is still having bereavement counselling. Megan Tollitt, defending, said her client had performed the reversing manoeuvre hundreds if not thousands of times. He performed CPR himself.

She said his wife Joanne supports him and quoted the company's National Fleet and Commercial Leader as saying Davies is the "most reliable, committed and hard working employee that I have ever come across". He remains employed and would continue in that role if at liberty.

The judge, His Honour Rhys Rowlands, told the defendant he had not kept a proper look out and the accident had been avoidable. He said: "The manoeuvre was carried out in an unsafe fashion."

However, he added: "This was an accident albeit one with the most dreadful consequences. You behaved entirely responsibly [afterwards] though in a great deal of shock."

The judge said it had been a horrible and tragic accident all the more poignant as Mr Sedgewick's retirement was coming up.

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References

^{^} Chester (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} Dog covered in cigarette burns abandoned in Crewe after giving birth to litter (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} reports NorthWalesLive (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Countess of Chester Hospital (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} Sign up for CheshireLive email direct to your inbox here (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)