A FATHER-of-three died after his lorry overturned in a freak accident, an inquest was told.
Maurice Naylor, 48, was unloading 24 tons of granite chippings from his Scania lorry on the A494 at Llanferres, near Mold.
The driver for Conwy haulage company Roland Young, was in his cab without a seatbelt when the vehicle toppled on its side, the hearing at Flint yesterday was told.
He was taken to Wrexham Maelor hospital with serious head injuries and transferred to the Walton Neurological Unit on Merseyside where he died four days later.
Colleague Marcian Czwalea was at the scene in a separate lorry.
Mr Czwalea told the hearing at Flint Magistrates’ Court: “I came out of my cab to give him a hand and was standing behind his trailer when he started to tip. The next moment the whole thing turned over.
“I ran to the front cab and Maurice was unconscious.”
Company director John Roland Young said it was not the first time this had happened, but that these incidents were extremely rare.
Company rules dictate that drivers should wear a seatbelt when unloading, he explained.
“It is the driver’s responsibility to assess the area and decide if it is suitable before they unload. If the driver is not happy with the site then they should not go ahead.”
Experts said the most likely reason for the topple was because the lorry was parked on a slight downhill gradient and wind speeds reached 34mph.
Mr Naylor leaves a wife Gail, 48, and children Samantha, 24, Adrian, 21, and Jordan, 16.
A post-mortem examination revealed he died from bronchopneumonia as a result of traumatic brain injury.
A jury of five men and four women took 20 minutes to deliver a unanimous verdict of accidental death.
Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Naylor said: “He was a very proud man and he is sadly missed by all of us.”