Investigation launched after Kenilworth man dies following incident at local lorry firm
An investigation has been launched after a man died following an incident at a local lorry factory last week.
Father-of-two Richard Hopkins was taken to hospital with head injuries on the morning of Wednesday 14 February, after the incident at Dennis Eagle’s Heathcote base.
Warwickshire Police said the 39-year-old from Kenilworth died in hospital, and a joint investigation is now underway with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Mr Hopkins’ family said they were “devastated” by the news.
Police said of the Heathcote Industrial Estate incident: “A man in his 30s was taken to hospital with head injuries where he sadly died.
“This is currently a joint investigation between Warwickshire Police and the HSE.”
HSE – the national regulator for workplace health and safety – told Nub News it was aware of the investigation and said it is assisting the police with their enquiries.
No further details of the incident have been released, while investigations continue.
Dennis Eagle is based at Heathcote Industrial Estate (image via google.maps)
Following the death of Mr Hopkins, who had only worked at the company since November, Dennis Eagle told Nub News the health and safety of its staff is “paramount” to the business.
“The directors of Dennis Eagle Ltd would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of our colleague who passed away last week following an incident at our Warwick manufacturing facility,” a statement to Nub News said.
“The health and safety of our colleagues is of paramount importance to us.
“We are working closely with the Health and Safety Executive on the investigation into this incident and therefore cannot release any further details at this point in time.”
The Heathcote-based firm, which supplied new lorries for Warwick District Council’s new 123+ refuse service[1], saw its engineering team move into a new testing and development engineering facility at its Warwickshire HQ last year.
The company also has 14 locations across the country, and says it manufactures over 1,000 vehicles per year for UK local authorities and private sector contractors.
References
- ^ supplied new lorries for Warwick District Council’s new 123+ refuse service (warwick.nub.news)