Boy died after jumping from runaway truck his dad feared could fall off cliff

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A nine-year-old boy died after being struck when his household tried to leap from a runaway car they feared could fall off a cliff, an inquest has heard.

Tomos Rhys Bunford died from accidents to his chest and stomach in an incident on farmland close to Blaenllechau within the Rhondda, South Wales on September 6, 2021.

South Wales Central Coroner’s Court heard that the younger boy was at the back of his household’s truck when it went out of management and his father, Rhys Bunford, referred to as for the household to leap from the car, fearing it could fall right into a disused quarry.

As they jumped, Tomos’ mum, Louise Bunford, tried to push her son away from the car, which was towing a heavy water bowser on a trailer.

Tomos was hit because the Mitsubishi Warrior and the connected trailer jack-knifed down the slope.

Track marks present the car skidded round 86 metres down the incline.

At an inquest on Tuesday, the coroner’s courtroom heard the incident occurred because the household had been going to water their cows which lived on the land.

His father spoke of how his son had beloved serving to with his household farm, typically telling classmates about feeding the animals and he had a younger calf he walked across the yard on a lead.

Mr Bunford instructed the coroner the journey was one thing the household had performed many occasions earlier than, with older brother Gethin, mum Louise and child Clemmie additionally within the truck.

He was emotional as he instructed Assistant Coroner Gavin Knox that because the car had began to go uncontrolled he feared it might fall off a “sheer drop” right into a disused quarry on the backside of the slope.

Mr Bunford mentioned: “We all left to go over just like we did the week before.

“We didn’t do anything different from any other day, we went the same route down an incline.

“As we were going down my son Gethin is in the passenger’s seat, directly behind me would be our young baby, my wife Louise would have been in the centre and Tomos would have been to the left.

“About halfway down the slope, it started to slip. There’s a quarry (at the bottom of the slope) and it’s a sheer drop.

“I thought it would be safer to exit the vehicle than wait to see what happens down there.”

He mentioned because the car started to select up velocity the bowser was jack-knifing, forcing the car round 180 levels.

Mr Bunford mentioned his preliminary worry was for his child Clemmie as a result of she was unable to run from the car’s path.

In the incident, his spouse was hit and needed to be pulled from beneath the truck.

Mrs Bunford added that she initially thought her younger son was secure after she had pushed him from the car, it was solely when she regarded over she noticed that he was injured.

Emergency providers attended the incident and tried to resuscitate Tomos.

Mr Knox, the coroner, learn statements from professional witnesses, who listed elements that could have contributed to the incident.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive discovered the braking mechanism on the trailer was faulty, which means its towing capability was decreased to 750kg. It was carrying a load of two,240kg.

The investigator additionally discovered that the tyres on the Mitzubishi had been mismatched and never appropriate for off-road use, whereas the water bowser was additionally solely three-quarters full, and the water motion probably added to the steering points.

Mr Knox recorded a conclusion of unintentional demise attributable to blunt pressure accidents to the chest and stomach.