Woman's digger crash was avoidableA crash which saw a 30-tonne runaway digger kill a beautician could have been prevented, a sheriff has ruled.
The fatal accident on July 5, 2006, happened when the machine broke free from the lorry transporting it and hit the car carrying Christina Fraser, 24.
The digger escaped while it was being transported up a hill near the A9 Inverness to Scrabster road at the Tomich junction.
Following the incident a sheriff in Tain published his findings into the death of Ms Fraser after a seven-day fatal accident inquiry. Ms Fraser, from Garstein, Arabella, near Tain, was making her way home from work when the accident happened. The driver of the car was injured.
Haulage firm Munro and Sons (Highland) Ltd previously admitted, at a High Court hearing, to breaking health and safety laws in relation to the accident. Sheriff David Sutherland found that the digger's brake was not working properly and the chains used to restrain the load were "clearly inadequate" for the task.
He heard evidence at the inquiry from an expert who said twice as many chains should have been used to hold the vehicle in place.
He said that the accident was caused by "insufficient chains, both in number and in strength, being used to restrain a load which was in excess of the weight allowed to be carried on the vehicle in question".
Following the accident, the haulage company and lorry driver Walter MacLennan admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Copyright (c) Press Association 2010
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