Scots mechanic crushed to death by van after starting engine from beneath vehicle

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A mechanic who died after being crushed and along the road by a van he was repairing had started the engine while underneath the vehicle, a court has concluded.Self-employed Dariusz Zamylko, of Montrose, was lying underneath the white Citroen Relay van repairing its starter motor, when he is believed to have triggered the ignition.

The vehicle then took off, crushing him and pulling him along beneath the van for 20 feet.A fatal accident inquiry heard that Zamylko was in cardiac arrest by the time ambulance crews arrived on the afternoon of April 21, 2021.

Life support was switched off a week later, after medics said his condition was "not compatible with life."The inquiry at Forfar Sheriff Court was told that customer Mark Steven had dropped the van off at the 44-year-old's W Motors garage on Ferry Road, Montrose, on April 21, reporting a problem with the starter.

Zamylko began working on the van later that day with the vehicle parked between the road and pavement so he could lie underneath.At around 4.10pm, eyewitnesses Christopher Lyons and Peter Morton stopped their vehicles on Ferry Road after spotting the van travelling across the street with no-one at the wheel - realising with horror moments later the mechanic was trapped below.Having found a pulse, paramedics rushed Zamylko to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in a "critical" condition, where he was placed in an induced coma.