The key facts

  • Sean Baker (GRS Recovery Bournemouth) was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison suspended for one year at Bournemouth Crown Court
  • The incident occurred on 22 March 2024 on Exeter Crescent: an unsecured Range Rover rolled down the slope
  • Passer-by Kai Dransfield, who tried to help, suffered fractures to his legs and spine; the investigation was conducted by the HSE

Sentence in the case of the runaway vehicle

Recovery driver Sean Baker, who worked for GRS Recovery Bournemouth, was sentenced on Friday at Bournemouth Crown Court to 14 weeks in prison, suspended, with a one-year probation period. The sentence was handed down over the incident on 22 March 2024, when an unsecured two-tonne Range Rover rolled down Exeter Crescent during a recovery operation. CCTV footage showed Baker being pinned by the vehicle's rear wheel.

Passer-by tried to help and was crushed

Kai Dransfield, who was on a break from his job at TGI Fridays, saw that Baker was trapped under the rolling vehicle, 'clinging to life for dear life', and tried to save him. According to Dransfield, 'he looked me in the eyes, and my first thought was simply to grab him to try to help'. As a result of the rescue attempt, Dransfield himself was knocked down by the vehicle and dragged underneath it. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the vehicle ran over both of his legs: he suffered multiple fractures to the bones of his legs and fractures to his spine. More than two years after the incident, he continues to suffer from chronic pain and has difficulty walking.

HSE investigation: procedural failures

The HSE investigation established that Baker first secured a winch to the front of the Range Rover — this would have prevented the vehicle from rolling even if the handbrake failed or was released. However, he then removed the winch, jacked up the vehicle and placed skates under the rear wheels. Since the wheels were not secured with chocks and the safety straps were not attached, nothing prevented the vehicle from rolling backwards once it was lowered onto the skates. The investigation concluded that Baker failed to take proper care of his own safety and the safety of others, did not follow established recovery procedures, and that his actions fell short of the standards expected of an experienced professional. Baker pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Regulator's response

After the hearing, HSE inspector Alexander Ashen stated that Baker was an experienced recovery driver, but that 'failing to properly secure a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes on a steep slope is a fundamental error'. According to him, the incident occurred in a busy city centre, near restaurants and car parks, where pedestrians regularly walk and cars and motorcycles drive. Ashen emphasised that Baker's failures 'were substantial, they put everyone nearby at risk and resulted in a member of the public who came to the aid of the injured man suffering life-changing injuries'.