A devoted family man who suffered a heart attack at work told his wife, ‘Don't worry about me, I’ll be fine’, moments before he died as the ambulance taking him to hospital crashed into a wall.
Despite suffering the heart attack, Trevor Bailey returned to his home near Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire before an ambulance was called to take him to hospital. He walked to the ambulance and was placed on a stretcher.
The inquest in Hull into his death on April 22 last year heard how the ambulance was heading along the A1079 towards Castle Hill Hospital when it began to overtake an HGV. The HGV’s offside rear indicator was not working and it veered slightly to the left before turning, which the medical care assistant Gemma Sumners, who was driving the ambulance, assumed meant he was giving way.
But the HGV started to turn right and the ambulance had to swerve out of the way before hitting a brick wall at the entrance to a yard. Area Coroner Lorraine Harris told the inquest that Miss Sumners “had not conducted a dangerous manoeuvre”. But she did conclude that Mr Bailey was not strapped in at the time, which led to him being thrown into the bulkhead of the ambulance.
Miss Sumners was trapped and the paramedic in the back, David Butterfield, was knocked unconscious and spent four weeks in hospital. Mr Bailey suffered severe head and chest injuries and died at the scene.
In a statement, his wife, Jane Bailey, told how her husband called to say he was coming home from work because he was unwell. He complained of back and chest pain. Mrs Bailey called the doctor and was told to ring for an ambulance. Mr Butterfield and Miss Sumners arrived at the Baileys' home and Mr Bailey managed to walk to the ambulance before being placed on a stretcher.
In her statement Mrs Bailey said: “As he left he told me, ‘Don’t worry about me I will be fine, just look after yourself’.” In a further victim impact statement, Mrs Bailey paid tribute to her husband. She said: “We did not realise how much Trev did for everyone.
“It is only once he was taken away from us that we realised just how much he did. He was very much a family man and he would do anything for anyone. He was someone anyone could turn to for advice.”
Pathologist Dr Christopher Johnson found evidence of severe heart disease which would probably have been responsible for Trev’s symptoms but he confirmed this did not contribute to his death. The pathologist confirmed the cause of death was severe chest and head injuries due to a road traffic collision.
The inquest heard that neither Mr Bailey nor Mr Butterfield were properly strapped in at the time of the collision. Miss Sumners told the inquest how she was fully trained and had embarked on a four-week ambulance driving training course which she passed with flying colours. On her decision to overtake the truck she said: “A car had indicated and pulled over so I know it had seen me. I noticed the truck seemed to veer to the left so I thought it had seen me. I never saw it indicate and so I felt it was safe to overtake.”
In delivering her conclusion, Mrs Harris identified what she found as fact. She confirmed the rear offside indicator was not working and that Mr Hilton had not looked in his mirrors for one final time before turning right. She also said Trev was not strapped into the stretcher at the time of the crash but could not say whether he had been at any point in the journey.
She also praised two off-duty police officers who saved Mr Butterfield’s life but could do nothing to help Mr Bailey. Mrs Harris said she would write a letter of commendation to their chief constable. She also told the Yorkshire Ambulance Service lawyer to ensure the trust sends over the action plan to the coroner’s office in light of lessons learned following the tragedy.
In praising all that rushed to help, Mrs Harris said: “I have seen the amount of people that tried to help those in the ambulance. I hope it gives some comfort to the family and it shows there are decent people out there willing to step and help.
“What also struck me was how Trev was more concerned about his wife and worrying about her than he was for himself. I have heard what a great family man he was. So many of his family have been here and they have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. My sincere condolences go to them all.”
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