Henry Thirsk's death was an accident, coroner rules

Coroner Professor Paul Marks said the “only logical” conclusion for the inquest into the death of Henry Thirsk, who died on his farm in Everingham near Pocklington, was that he “died as a result of an accident”.

“This is nothing other than a tragic accident,” the coroner said. “No one is to blame.”

Prof Marks said the most likely explanation was that the 74-year-old father of one, farmer and hotelier, who owned the Feathers Hotel in Pocklington, got out of his Range Rover Vogue while the engine was running and opened the rear passenger door when the car rolled back.

He told Hull Coroner’s Court the vehicle “toppled him" and "ran over" him, leading to fatal chest injuries on the night of April 20, 2022.

The hearing previously heard that Mr Thirsk was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by his wife, a neighbour and paramedics to save him.

Prof Marks described Mr Thirsk as a “well respected member of his local community and beyond”, telling his family members present at the hearing: “I had heard of him from where I live in North Yorkshire… my condolences remain with you as the family.”

Henry Thirsk (Image: Supplied)

Alexander Holmes, a police investigator who examined the scene, said no defects were found with the Range Rover.

A police investigation found that there was no third-party involvement in Mr Thirsk’s death, the inquest heard.

It concluded that the vehicle was most likely in the reverse gear when Mr Thirsk exited, then crept backwards towards him.

Roger Hughes, a consultant at Jaguar Land Rover, said the Range Rover has an automatic handbrake.

A handbrake can also be applied manually by selecting the park function on its automatic gearbox.

If the driver “just touched” the accelerator – either intentionally or by accident – the handbrake would release and the vehicle move, Mr Hughes said.

Car 'operated as it was intended to', inquest hears

Detective Sergeant Samuel Cunnington, who was involved in the police investigation, told the hearing that a scene reconstruction revealed that the quickest speed the car could travel in reverse without accelerating would have been 7mph.

The investigation showed that the force of the Range Rover would “climb over” a human body of Mr Thirsk’s size if the accelerator had just been pressed to deactivate the handbrake, he said.

“Given the ease of how a Range Rover could move over someone… I couldn’t see how anyone could have saved him,” Det Sgt Cunnington added.

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Some Range Rover models have a built-in function where the handbrake would not be released if the car detected that something was open – like a door – but this was not the case with Mr Thirsk’s car, the inquest heard.

Mr Hughes said Mr Thirsk’s Range Rover “operated as it was intended to operate”.

He explained that the car’s owner manual states that serious injury or death can happen if the driver exits the vehicle with it in gear without the handbrake applied.