A telehandler operator has been handed a suspended prison sentence after reversing over a colleague on a Cheshire construction site, causing fatal injuries.
Michael Nixon, who was self-employed, reversed his vehicle without the aid of a banksman on the site in Ince, Ellesmere Port, striking James Connolly, 49. Connolly, a lift supervisor, was walking back to his work area from the welfare compound.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also found that Nixon had been using his mobile phone whilst in control of the telehandler, contrary to the site rules he had signed up to.
The HSE said that the principal contractor had taken steps to minimise the need for reversing on site, including creation of a turning circle, which was unobstructed at the time of the incident.
Nixon, 46, of Deeside, Heswall, Wirral, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
He was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and fined £800. He was also ordered to pay £2,000 in costs at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 11 August 2026.
HSE principal inspector Laura Royales said: “Workplace transport incidents remain one of the biggest causes of deaths in the workplace. It is vital that drivers follow the site rules and do not cut corners and put lives at risk.”
In a victim personal statement, Connolly’s daughter Amelia said: “I struggle with a great deal of anger. I am angry that my dad went to work and never came home. Alongside the sadness there is also a constant sense of injustice. It is difficult to accept that someone could leave home for work and never return to their family.”
