Husband's terror as wife crushed by 'driverless lorry'

A WOMAN was crushed just yards from her home by an out-of-control driverless truck, it has been claimed.

Grandmother Janet Coombes, 57, suffered five broken ribs in the impact, which left her pinned against a parked car in Richmond Green, Sherborne.

Her horrified husband Winston, 66, described how there was no-one in the driver's seat when the 7.5-tonne Isuzu waste collection lorry rolled towards his wife on Friday.

He said the engine was off and a passenger appeared to be trying to control it from where he was sitting.

"We were admiring our neighbour's new Jaguar when the refuse lorry went past, collecting the recycling. We thought nothing of it.

"Suddenly, the lorry was right there in front of us. That's when I realised there was no driver and the driver's door was open. The engine wasn't running which is why we didn't hear it coming. Someone was in the front passenger seat and as it came down it looked to me as if he was adjusting the controls.

"I shouted out and tried to jump across to help her. The lorry hit the back of my car and deflected off into Janet, crushing her against the Jaguar.

"I tried with all my strength to push the lorry back and called out for help. Janet was screaming. She kept saying to me she thought she was going to die and she was very frightened."

Mr Coombes, a retired lorry driver, held his wife in his arms as more than 30 emergency service personnel rushed to the scene, including the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, which landed in an adjoining playing field.

She spent two days in intensive care in Yeovil District Hospital before being transferred to a ward where she remains. Mr Coombes said she was still in pain and her injuries were likely to take months to heal.

He said: "If I could have taken the pain for her, I would have. We've been married for 32 years and I've never been so scared I would lose her. I was going to stay with her, there on the ground, no matter what happened. If anything happened I wanted to be there, beside her. It was one of the most awful experiences I've ever had. I felt totally helpless.

"I can't get the image of her crushed underneath that lorry out of my mind. I can't go back to where it happened around the corner from our home. I haven't really eaten since it happened and I'm not sleeping very well. I just want her to come home."

A Dorset Police spokesman said no-one had been arrested and investigations were ongoing.

West Dorset District Council Services Manager Ian Doyle said the driver was questioned by police at the scene.

Mr Coombes said he never saw the driver during the commotion but Mr Doyle said: "The driver and loader of our vehicle assisted in the rescue of the injured lady. Members of a second recycling team also assisted and one of them went to the end of the road to direct the ambulance and rescue services to the incident."

Neither police nor council would comment on Mr Coombes's claim that the truck was driverless at the time of the collision.

"Both the council and I very much regret that someone was injured and I have contacted her family to wish her a full recovery", said Mr Doyle.