S
sldgy
Guest
The Telegraph (London, UK)
25/02/2008
A Monk was killed when he was run over by his own sit-on lawnmower as
he trimmed the grass at a convent, an inquest heard.
Moments before, the 50-year-old was seen running after the driverless
machine as it set off in the 12-acre grounds of a peace temple.
The Milton Keynes coroner heard that 10 years earlier, Rev Seiji Handa
had lost three fingers in another lawnmower accident.
An eye-witness told the jury how she had found the Buddhist monk after
he had fallen beneath the blades of the mower at the Peace Pagoda in
Milton Keynes, Bucks.
Venita Slater said she saw Mr Handa chasing the machine as it pulled
away from him while he was cutting lawns at the peace temple.
She said that the monk was dragged underneath the blades as he tried
to get into the cab and regain control.
The mother-of-two said: "The tractor was running away and he was
chasing it to stop it. I looked up but he had disappeared."
Emergency services were called, but Mr Handa had died instantly. A
post mortem examination revealed that he died of multiple injuries.
Taran Hewitt, from the Health and Safety Executive, said officials had
inspected the diesel vehicle and found that it should not have been in
service.
The ratchet on the handbrake was not working, the brakes were not able
to hold the tractor steady and the footbrake did not work.
Mr Hewitt said: "The only way to get the tractor to stay stationary
was to turn the engine off and leave it in gear. It should not have
been used."
Mr Handa was in charge of maintenance of the tractor and was also
responsible for cutting the grass in the grounds of the convent, where
he lived.
The jury heard that he was born in Japan and became a Buddhist monk at
the age of 21 years. He was ordained at a peace pagoda in Sri Lanka.
He arrived in Milton Keynes in 1978 and built a temple with the help
of nuns and volunteers.
The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
The coroner, Rodney Corner, said: "He got out of the cab and
desperately tried to get back in. He must have slipped on wet grass.
It was just an unfortunate accident."
25/02/2008
A Monk was killed when he was run over by his own sit-on lawnmower as
he trimmed the grass at a convent, an inquest heard.
Moments before, the 50-year-old was seen running after the driverless
machine as it set off in the 12-acre grounds of a peace temple.
The Milton Keynes coroner heard that 10 years earlier, Rev Seiji Handa
had lost three fingers in another lawnmower accident.
An eye-witness told the jury how she had found the Buddhist monk after
he had fallen beneath the blades of the mower at the Peace Pagoda in
Milton Keynes, Bucks.
Venita Slater said she saw Mr Handa chasing the machine as it pulled
away from him while he was cutting lawns at the peace temple.
She said that the monk was dragged underneath the blades as he tried
to get into the cab and regain control.
The mother-of-two said: "The tractor was running away and he was
chasing it to stop it. I looked up but he had disappeared."
Emergency services were called, but Mr Handa had died instantly. A
post mortem examination revealed that he died of multiple injuries.
Taran Hewitt, from the Health and Safety Executive, said officials had
inspected the diesel vehicle and found that it should not have been in
service.
The ratchet on the handbrake was not working, the brakes were not able
to hold the tractor steady and the footbrake did not work.
Mr Hewitt said: "The only way to get the tractor to stay stationary
was to turn the engine off and leave it in gear. It should not have
been used."
Mr Handa was in charge of maintenance of the tractor and was also
responsible for cutting the grass in the grounds of the convent, where
he lived.
The jury heard that he was born in Japan and became a Buddhist monk at
the age of 21 years. He was ordained at a peace pagoda in Sri Lanka.
He arrived in Milton Keynes in 1978 and built a temple with the help
of nuns and volunteers.
The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
The coroner, Rodney Corner, said: "He got out of the cab and
desperately tried to get back in. He must have slipped on wet grass.
It was just an unfortunate accident."