A LORRY driver did not realise he had struck a pedestrian – who was being carried under his vehicle – until he was waved down by a member of the public, an inquest has heard.

The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Rodney Gledhill were detailed in a written inquest at Bradford Coroner’s Court on Monday.

Written inquests take place without a hearing but are read out to the record.

Details of this and the official Record of Inquest have been provided to the Telegraph & Argus.

Investigations at the scene (Image: Newsquest)

Rodney, a much-loved and well-known member of the Holme Wood community, died aged 78 on December 8, 2024 after he was struck by a HGV at the junction of Bowling Hall Road and Rooley Lane.

The inquest heard that Rodney left his home that day just before 11am and was walking along Rooley Lane in the direction of the Asda supermarket.

At the same time, a lorry was travelling up Bowling Hall Road and preparing to turn left at the junction with Rooley Lane.

Rodney left the pavement and moved onto the carriageway, crossing the road directly in front of the nearside of the HGV, the inquest heard.

(Image: T&A)

Assistant Coroner Charlotte Keighley said: “The driver of the HGV was unable to see Rodney and set off from the junction, striking Rodney with the nearside of the HGV, causing Rodney to be carried underneath the vehicle for a short distance towards Dudley Hill roundabout before a member of the public flagged the driver down and informed him of what was happening.”

Paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service attended and Rodney’s death was confirmed at 11.03am – only five minutes after he had left his home.

The collision was investigated by police and a reconstruction of the events concluded that Rodney was likely partially, if not fully, obscured from the driver’s view as he crossed the junction towards the HGV, due to the blind spots around the front of the vehicle.

Environmental and road conditions were not contributory factors and the HGV was free from defects, the court heard.

Mrs Keighley said Special Forensic Collision Investigator, Georgina Mitchell, formed the view that the driver was “unable to take action to avoid the collision”.

This was due to Rodney crossing the junction “when it was not safe to do so” and the lorry driver being “unaware” of his presence as Rodney was within the vehicle’s blind spots and the driver’s attention was towards the offside of the vehicle.

A post-mortem was completed by Consultant Forensic Pathologist, Dr Rob Ainsworth, who offered the cause of death as multiple injuries from a road traffic collision as a pedestrian.

Mrs Keighley accepted this assessment and described Rodney’s injuries as “unsurvivable”.

The Record of Inquest lists the medical cause of death as 1A Multiple Injuries and 1B Road Traffic Collision (Pedestrian), with Mrs Keighley’s conclusion that Rodney died from a road traffic collision.

Flowers left in tribute to Rodney Gledhill after the fatal collision in December 2024 (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

She said: “At 10.58 hours on the 8th December 2024, Rodney Gledhill was walking along Rooley Lane, Bradford, in the direction of the Asda Supermarket.

“At the same time, a heavy goods vehicle was travelling up Bowling Hall Road, turning left at the Junction with Rooley Lane.

“Rodney crossed the junction on foot, walking in front of the heavy goods vehicle out of sight of the driver and when the vehicle moved out of the junction, it collided with Rodney who suffered unsurvivable injuries.

“Paramedics from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service attended and sadly Rodney’s death was confirmed at 1103 hours the same day.”

She added: “I would like to express condolences to Rodney’s family and friends.”

Rodney was at one time “targeted” on the estate of Holme Wood, according to friend, Marie, who was one of a group of women who took him under their wing and “changed the way the community thought about him”.

Marie said at the time of Rodney’s death: “He got to the stage where he was enjoying his life, now this has happened. It should not have ended like this.

“I feel like I should have been protecting him, but I could not be with him 24/7.

“I was shocked yesterday, now I am just heartbroken. He was like our grandad. We took him under our wing to make sure he was okay, fed, and warm.