World · Europe · 4 hrs ago
Bournemouth recovery driver gets suspended sentence after Range Rover crash
A Range Rover rolled down a steep hill in Bournemouth during a recovery operation on Exeter Crescent in March 2024.
Recovery driver Sean Baker was trapped beneath the vehicle, and passer-by Kai Dransfield was hit while trying to help him.
Dransfield suffered broken legs and spinal fractures and still has chronic pain and difficulty walking.
An investigation found Baker had removed a winch and failed to secure the vehicle’s wheels with chocks or attach breakaway cables.
Baker pleaded guilty to a workplace safety offence for failing to follow established recovery procedures.
Bournemouth Crown Court gave him a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for one year.
The case highlights the danger of failing to secure heavy vehicles during roadside recovery work.
Sean Baker received a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, after failing to secure a Range Rover during a recovery operation in Bournemouth.
The vehicle rolled down Exeter Crescent on 22 March 2024, trapping Baker and crushing Kai Dransfield, who had tried to help.
Dransfield suffered multiple broken bones in his legs and fractures to his spine and continues to experience pain and difficulty walking.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that Baker removed a winch and did not secure the vehicle’s wheels with chocks or attach breakaway cables.
Baker pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
- Who
- Sean Baker, a vehicle recovery driver for GRS Recovery Bournemouth, was sentenced. Kai Dransfield was injured.
- What
- Baker received a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, after pleading guilty to a health and safety offence.
- When
- The incident happened on 22 March 2024. Baker was sentenced on 16 October 2026.
- Where
- Exeter Crescent, Bournemouth.
- Why
- Baker failed to follow established recovery procedures and properly secure the Range Rover.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A Range Rover rolled down Exeter Crescent during a recovery operation, injuring Baker and Dransfield.
Baker received a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, at Bournemouth Crown Court.
- Sentence
- 14 weeks in prison, suspended for one year
- Driver
- Sean Baker, GRS Recovery Bournemouth
- Injured passer-by
- Kai Dransfield
- Incident location
- Exeter Crescent, Bournemouth
- Incident date
- 22 March 2024
- Offence
- Breach of Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
3 sources
What people are saying
He made eye contact with me, and my first thought was to just grab him to try and help him.
Failing to properly secure a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes on a steep hill was a fundamental error.