Father relives horrifying moment he caused a wall to fall, crushing son to death
A Birmingham father was forced to relive the traumatic moment he drove a truck into a wall which subsequently collapsed on his 17-month-son, crushing the toddler to death.
Mohammed Yaseen, who went by Amaan, suffered disastrous head injuries caused by bricks falling on him, an inquest heard. The young boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard his father Imran had been moving the truck from their home on Queens Road, Stechford, to another address on the same street.
Imran said that despite pulling up the handbrake of the lorry, it had still rolled forward into the wall.
He said he had not been aware at the time that any of his family had been close to the truck.
He said: “I used the hand brake but the just rolled forward and hit the wall.
I was not aware beforehand that any of the family were going to be watching.”
When asked by the coroner if he could have done anything different in order to avoid the tragedy, Imran said: “I could have been aware he was near by. I did not see him.”
Police Constable Gurvinder Khosa confirmed that the accident had been caused by Imran.
PC Khosa said: “It was driver error. As he was manoeuvring the vehicle he failed to appreciate it had a over hang which struck the wall.”
Police Sergeant Adam Green said a possible prosecution had been considered and papers had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to this.
He said: “We recommended no further action be taken. It was not deemed to be in the public interest to pursue the matter any further.”
Birmingham Coroner Louise Hunt said the toddler’s death had been due to massive head injuries and multiple internal injuries and fractures.
She said: “Mohammed was standing near to a wall at 191 Queens Road at about 5pm when the Mitsibushi low loader recovery vehicle rolled forward on to the wall. Part of the wall hit the deceased who suffered head and body injuries.
“He was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
She confirmed that his death had been due to a road traffic collision.
Mohammed Yaseen’s family described him as a “lovely little boy who brought joy and happiness.”
The statement said: “These parents are distraught and shocked.
“Amaan was a lovely little boy, who brought with him a lot of joy and happiness for the entire family – particularly his parents – and he will be deeply missed.”
Inspector Paul Bennett, of the West Midlands Police collision investigation unit, said: “This was a tragic incident.”
