Passing truck driver accidentally struck pedestrian in the head with hay baler in Sheffield

Sheffield Crown Court heard today, November 23, how Gerard Fisher, aged 52, had been driving along High Street, Pensitone, Sheffield, when a mechanical arm from the hay baler he was carrying swung out and struck a pedestrian.

Ian Goldsack, prosecuting, said: “He was struck forcibly to the head from behind and knocked to the floor and rendered uncnscious.

"Essentially, he’s no knowledge of what happened apart from what he was subsequently told.”

Fisher’s truck had been captured on CCTV pulling a trailer with a hay baler with an arm of the machinery hanging over the side, according to Mr Goldsack, and although the footage does not show the incident it does show a near miss with a female pedestrian.

One witness said she saw the mechanical arm hanging over the pavement looking “extremely dangerous” and she said the arm struck the male on the back of the head and she thought he was dead.

The complainant described what happened to him as “the most frightening experience of my life”, and that “the pain became all-consuming”.

The defendant, who was identified because the vehicle was registered to him, indicated to police he had not been aware of what had happened after he had strapped the machinery down and later became aware it had come loose and he was extremely sorry.

Fisher, of Dale View Farm, Upper Denby, Huddersfield, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and to inflicting grievous bodily harm after the incident on March 24, 2018.

Richard Barradell, defending, said: “He is partly deaf and was completely unaware this incident had happened and he was really co-operative with the police and when they showed him what happened he was really upset. He is genunely remorseful.”

Judge Roger Thomas QC fined Fisher £700 and ordered him to pay a £70 victim surcharge and the prosecution’s costs.

Fisher also had his driving licence endorsed with six penalty points.

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