A Wearside man who killed his best friend by running over him with a 20-tonne dumper truck has been jailed. David Liddle died when he was struck by the vehicle, driven by James Johnston, at Sunderland waste firm Alex Smiles Ltd in December 2007. Johnston had earlier admitted manslaughter by gross negligence.
A Judge at Newcastle Crown Court jailed him for 18 months, and the company was fined £15,000. The Court heard Mr Liddle was hit by the overloaded vehicle as he walked across the works yard. Johnston's vision was obscured and he admitted he had been "driving by instinct" at the time. At an earlier hearing, where his employer pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation, they were told that there had been a clear failure to manage site traffic safely.
Sentencing Johnston, Judge Esmond Faulks said both he and Mr Liddle had been let down by their employer. But he said the risk of danger was exacerbated by the driving of the overloaded truck. The Court also heard that Johnston is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Northumbria Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an extensive investigation into the cause of Mr Liddle's death, resulting in the case being passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.
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