Fall man dies after being dragged under car for a mile
A DRUNKEN man died after slipping under a car which then dragged him for almost a mile over cobbled streets.
The vehicle’s elderly driver at first put the bumpy ride down to the surface of the road, an inquest was told.
It was only after retired doctor Andrew Buck, 74, stopped to check his Citroen C5 that he saw a leg sticking out from underneath.
The hearing in Halifax, West Yorkshire, heard how Stephen Cowley, 58, had been seen 15 minutes earlier slumped in front of the car by two men who helped him up and left him leaning against the bonnet. It was thought that Mr Cowley, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, had slipped back down in front of the vehicle as he tried to pick up his dropped mobile phone.
Tests showed he was three times over the drink-drive limit. The doctor and his wife Lesley had been at a concert in Halifax on Friday, November 13 last year, and parked on a narrow road with two wheels on the kerb. When they set off, Mr Cowley was trapped between the engine and the suspension as the C5 came off the kerb.
In a statement, Dr Buck said: “The car was bouncing more than usual. I said to my wife ‘I must have a flat tyre’.” He kept going because he was nearly home, but 0.7 miles later, when the road surface changed and the bumps became worse, he pulled over. Paramedics found Mr Cowley was already dead. A breathalyser test on Dr Buck was negative and he will not be prosecuted as there was no evidence of careless driving.
The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death