A construction firm in Slough and a bulldozer operator have been sentenced for serious safety failings.
These occurred when a man was run over whilst working on the M25 widening project. 39 year old Mihai Hondru, from Ilford, suffered multiple crush injuries and died at the scene when he was struck by a reversing bulldozer on 20 October 2010. J McArdle Contracts Ltd and bulldozer operator Stephen Blackmore were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The Court heard that Mr Hondru was employed by J McArdle Contracts Ltd, which was managing the rebuilding of the motorway embankment. Mr Hondru’s job was directing lorries to the correct position on the embankment for them to tip their loads of soil. Stephen Blackmore’s job was then to level the tipped soil with his bulldozer.
As Mr Hondru was helping a lorry driver manoeuvre his vehicle into position, he was struck by the reversing bulldozer, driven by Mr Blackmore. Usually a one-way system to minimise the risks to pedestrians from the moving vehicles. However, on the day of the incident, ground conditions had changed which meant the lorries had to reverse into position but inadequate safety measures were put in place to protect those workers operating near the reversing bulldozer.
In addition, Stephen Blackmore failed to take sufficient account of Mihai Hondru’s presence in his immediate vicinity. Rather than making sure he knew exactly where Mr Hondru was, he assumed he was not in his way or that Mr Hondru would move out of his way when he reversed his bulldozer.
J McArdle Contracts Ltd – now in liquidation – of McArdle House, McArdle Way, Colnbrook, Slough, was handed a fine of £2,000 after being found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The judge commented on sentencing that if the company had still been trading the fine would have been £200,000.
Stephen Blackmore, 54, of Rydon Farm, Talaton, Devon, was also found guilty of breaching Regulation 37(3)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. He was given a six month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay costs of £2,500.