A man was crushed by a car while attempting to remove its catalytic converter, an inquest has heard.
Oh, the perils of DIY! Why didn't he just call QuickFit or a mobile mechanic to help him with his...
Daniel Stephens, 25, from Pontypool, was found dead by the owner of the vehicle in a car park on High Street, Cymmer, Porth at about 6am on August 12, 2020.
Oh. Well, I do love poetry...
His friend, Aaron Godfrey, who was with him on the evening of August 11, said that Mr Stephens - who had three children with a former partner - had told him that he needed money to attend court for child arrangements.
Great! So he isn't even a Darwin Award winner!
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, and was later identified by his fingerprints and tattoos.
Which suggests it's not his first brush with the law.
Assistant coroner for South Wales Central Rachel Knight offered her condolences to Mr Stephens' family and friends.
The coroner said he was "clearly missed by many people", before delivering a conclusion of accidental death.
We really need a new conclusion for coroners to draw in these cases, don't we?
Pardon my mirth. He became one of our biggest steal it youself fans - six foot by three foot and half an inch thick.
ReplyDeleteHe was heard to be shouting for help until exhausted.
ReplyDelete"....... he needed money to attend court for child arrangements."
ReplyDeleteSo, instead of getting a job and earning the money, thereby showing the court he was beginning to be a responsible parent, he decided to steal someone else's property, therefore showing the court, and the rest of humanity, that he was really a waste of oxygen. No loss. One question, though. Did he steal the jack which collapsed? If so, then someone from Leigh Day will no doubt sue the owner of that jack on behalf of the children's mother.
Penseivat
Yet another death caused by ill thought out Green legislation.
ReplyDeleteHaving personal connections with people involved in the motor trade I have an acute understanding of the devastation financial and employment wise that catalytic converter thefts cause. I've heard via my connections in the trade of innocent motorists who suddenly find themselves with massive bills for the replacement not only of the converter but also the entire exhaust system because of the damage that the thieves have done. I've also heard via the same sources of those who have lost jobs because they can't drive their cars to their work or they can only drive their cars via 'limp mode' at very slow speeds because the car's CPU cannot sense the presence of a catalytic converter.
ReplyDeleteThe catalytic converter thief in this instance is or rather was utter scum as he probably had done this before and had also hurt ordinary working people. Yes, it's sad for his family that he has died, but when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes.
Leigh Day would struggle, jacks are not intended to support a car safely enough to work under the car. No one with more than two brain cells works under a car that is only supported by jacks. Stands or ramps are needed.
ReplyDeleteDead as a dodo on 12th August 2020 in such clear-cut circumstances that even the Welsh police couldn't mistake the cause. Yet our sclerotic courts system didn't, or wouldn't, conclude the Coroner's case until a year later. Still, if he'd survived and actually been charged with theft, the delay before a criminal trial would likely have extended to 2022. So, a minor win for the tax-payer in the end.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone told him it was a quick way to convert to Catalicism?
ReplyDelete@John Tee - two brain cells being two more than this scumbag possessed.
ReplyDeleteJT,
ReplyDeleteThe comment was meant to be sarcastic as Leigh Day seem to have a reputation, allegedly, for initiating legal action on the flimsiest of excuses, usually on taxpayers expoenses.
Penseivat
"He became one of our biggest steal it youself fans - six foot by three foot and half an inch thick."
ReplyDelete🤣
"He was heard to be shouting for help until exhausted."
Heh! Good one!
"So, instead of getting a job and earning the money..."
Quite!
"Yet another death caused by ill thought out Green legislation."
ReplyDelete👏
"Having personal connections with people involved in the motor trade I have an acute understanding of the devastation financial and employment wise that catalytic converter thefts cause."
There has been a lot of it in my area. I live in dread of turning the ignition key when I see another case on local Facebook. So I'm not in the least sympathetic.
"Maybe someone told him it was a quick way to convert to Catalicism?"
😂