Elderly Wirral woman on pelican crossing was killed by wagon (From Wirral Globe)

Elderly Wirral woman on pelican crossing was killed by wagon

11:23am Friday 20th July 2012 in News

A WIRRAL pensioner died after she was hit by a slow-moving wagon delivering flowers, an inquest heard.

Brenda King, from Moreton, was using a pedestrian crossing in Pasture Road, when the tragedy happened on September 2, 2009.

The 89-year-old was taken to hospital but died the next day.

The inquest on Thursday at Wallasey Town Hall, heard the Dutch-registered large lorry was trying to reverse into nearby Oakenholt Road to deliver goods to Supersavers.

But while carrying out his manoeuvre, driver Jielis Van Der Lei was partly over the pelican crossing when the lights turned to red.

Eye-witnesses described how Mrs King had been forced to deviate her path around the lorry to get to the pavement.

The hearing was told how the lorry “jolted” forward knocking the victim off balance to the ground. But it is believed Mr Van Der Lei could not see her from his elevated position in the cab of the wagon.

Constable James Martindale from Merseyside Police said: “The driver needed to go over the crossing in order to get the lorry to swing back into the side road.

“It would appear the driver took every effort to ensure the road was clear before moving off but it would have been impossible to see her.”

A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs King’s cause of death to be heart failure and severe soft tissue injuries to lower legs and feet.

Wirral coroner Christopher Johnson recorded a verdict of accidental death.