Concrete truck driver didn’t survive Tea Tree Rd crash after failing to wear seatbelt
A brave man who was mowing his lawn put his life at risk to rescue a truck driver who was thrown through the windscreen of his concrete truck, only for the driver to die hours later.
Tasmania
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A TASMANIAN coroner has praised the actions of a man who put himself at risk of electrocution as he removed an injured concrete truck driver from under fallen power lines.
David Blackwell, who was outside his home on Tea Tree Rd to mow the lawn, also provided first aid and reassurance until help arrived, after he saw the driver thrown through the windscreen of the sliding, out of control vehicle.
Driver Michael Robert Thomspon, 55, died a few hours after he was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital with chest injuries on December 14, 2017.
Mr Thompson, an experienced truck driver, and his partner lived at Rokeby and he was employed full-time with Best Mix Concrete.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart found Mr Thompson was not wearing a seatbelt that fatal day – a poor decision she said most probably cost him his life.
Mr Thompson was driving on Tea Tree Rd after being loaded cement destined for an address in Old Beach.
He was not about to maintain the line as he tried to negotiate a right-hand curve in the road.
“As a result of Mr Thompson trying to keep the truck on the road, and due to the weight shift from one side of the vehicle to the other, a tyre scuff mark was made on the surface of the road by the passenger side tyres of the vehicle which continued for a total distance of 110m,” Ms McTaggart said in her findings.
His truck left the road, tipped onto its passenger side and hit an embankment.
Ms McTaggart found Mr Thompson was likely ejected through the windscreen in impact.
During the truck’s slide to final rest, a power pole was snapped off at the ground, bringing down power lines.
Mr Blackwell saw the driver being ejected from the windscreen, the truck hitting the power pole and bouncing towards the Fire Station.
He ran inside and dialled Triple 0 then flagged down another truck for assistance.
With the assistance of two passers-by who were both doctors, Mr Thompson was moved to a
concrete apron in front of the nearby Fire Station.
The two doctors assisted Mr Thompson with basic medical management until the ambulance paramedics arrived.
Mr Thompson died of chest injuries in the Royal Hobart Hospital later that day.
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