A man and business have been sentenced in a Northern Ireland court following a fatal workplace telehandler accident in 2022.

Ian McCollum, aged 52, died after he was struck and killed by the telehandler at the McKinstry Biomass Ltd site in Newry on January 24, 2022.

Newry Crown Court heard how Ian McCollum was first hit when the vehicle drove forward with its view blocked, then struck a second time as it reversed.

Walter Manley (53) from Loanda Crescent, Newry had been driving the JCB Wastemaster telehandler.

The sentenced handed down at Newry Crown Court today (Wednesday, July 8) followed a joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Court

McKinstry Biomass Ltd was fined a total of £120,000 for three separate health and safety offences at Newry Crown Court.

Walter Manley, who was employed by the company at the time, was given an immediate custodial sentence of three years and four months after pleading guilty to manslaughter and a further 12-month sentence for a separate health and safety offence.

These sentences are to run concurrently with half on licence.

Volvo tractor unit

The court heard that the tragedy unfolded when Ian McCollum, an employee of McKinstry Skip Hire Ltd, had driven a Volvo tractor unit with a 40ft ejector trailer of wood waste to the Newry site for disposal. 

While he stood in the yard watching the waste being ejected from his trailer, a JCB Wastemaster telehandler driven by Walter Manley moved towards the same waste bay and struck him. 

The telehandler then tipped its load and reversed, striking Ian McCollum a second time.

He was fatally injured. 

The joint investigation found significant failings in the management of workplace transport risks by McKinstry Biomass Ltd and that their risk assessment failed to adequately segregate vehicles from pedestrians.

They also failed to manage the site in such a way that both pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner, placing both Ian McCollum and others at risk.

This extended to a lack of suitable information, instruction and training in relation to working within operational areas of the site where vehicles and pedestrians would interact.

There was inadequate supervision, a lack of communication, and a system of unwritten rules rather than formal protocols in relation to control measures. 

Reconstruction

A reconstruction of the incident found that the telehandler's raised, waste-filled bucket left Walter Manley with little to no forward visibility as he approached Ian McCollum. The cab's rear window was dirty obstructing its visibility, and the offside rear mirror was significantly misadjusted, leaving Walter Manley unable to see behind the vehicle. 

He failed to identify Ian McCollum in the machine's rear camera before reversing. 

Prosecutors in the Public Prosecution Service's Fraud and Departmental Section worked with the HSENI and the PSNI to build the case. 

HSENI major investigation team inspector, Kiara Blackburn, said: "No job should cost a person their life. Mr McCollum’s death was wholly preventable and highlights the high cost of health and safety standards falling short. 

"Health and safety measures cannot be treated as optional. Simple, effective control measures must be put in place and maintained. Detailed advice on managing workplace transport risks is readily available to all employers".

In a statement following the sentencing at Newry Crown Court today Ian McCollum’s wife and son said that they remained "devastated at losing Ian".

"He was a devoted and thoughtful husband and father whose life revolved around us and his love of farming.

"He loved life and loved us. The future without him will be very difficult," they said.