35-year-old businessman accused of illegally killing an employee who became trapped in a tyre shredding machine at work weeps as jury hears heartbreaking 999 call in which employees sought to save his life.
In 2019, 38-year-old Martin Simmons became entangled in a tire-shredding machine.
He was transported to a Gloucestershire hospital but died due to serious brain damage.
His fiancee, Tina Simmons, married him on his hospital bed days before he passed away.
Kyle Gettings, 35, is accused of negligently illegally killing Mr. Simmons.
A businessman wept in court as the jury listened to the horrific 999 call made by one of his employees in an attempt to save the life of a man caught in a tyre-shredding machine.
Nine women and three men on the jury heard the sound of disc cutters being used to remove 38-year-old Martin Simmons from the newly installed machine.
The emergency services instructed Capital Metals employees in Sling, Gloucestershire, to make Martin Simmons as comfortable as possible until the arrival of paramedics.
When it appeared that Mr. Simmons had stopped breathing, the personnel were instructed to release him from the machine and do CPR.
Mr. Simmons was transported to the hospital, but he suffered significant brain damage due to a severed artery in his neck. He died two weeks later.
Just days before he died, his fiancée, Tina Simmons,’married’ him at his hospital bed.
In March 2019, Ms. Simmons donned her wedding gown for a heartbreaking ceremony before her husband’s life support was turned off.
After doctors informed Martin Simmons’ fiancee and mother that he would not recover, they chose to disconnect his life support.
Martin Simmons, 38 years old, perished after becoming entrapped in the machine. Court proceedings were halted when defendant Kyle Gettings and jury members got visibly outraged over the incident footage.
The judge halted proceedings at Gloucester Crown Court when the recording of the incident was aired and defendant Kyle Gettings and jury members got visibly disturbed.
Mr. Gettings, 35 years old, denies murdering Martin Simmons through gross carelessness.
Mr. Simmons had proposed to his 35-year-old fiancée Tina two years prior to his death, and the couple was scheduled to fly to Cuba for their dream wedding in April 2020.
He pled guilty to failing to protect the health and safety of his workers while they operated the apparatus.
Prosecutor Philip Stott told the jury that on February 20, 2019, Mr. Simmons was feeding shredded tyres onto the conveyor belt and supervising them as they exited the machine.
Mr. Stott stated, “The machinery’s second conveyor belt lacked guard rail protection.” This is carelessness, as anyone may easily become entangled in its mechanisms.
There was no mechanism in place to prevent this while the machinery was operating.
The jury was informed that the day prior to the incident, a television team for the series “Scrap Kings” had been documenting the tyre shredding operation and was shown video footage of what the employees did when the gear became jammed.
The film depicted the machine and conveyor belt being operated without any safety precautions.
The next day, despite having been instructed by Mr. Gettings to do so, it was reported that personnel did not turn off the machine when unjamming the conveyor belt.
Jack Major, who was working with Mr. Simmons at the time of the event, told the jury that he was instructed to ensure that the equipment was turned off before retrieving the debris.
Mr. Major stated, “I had to constantly pick up large shredded things from the floor and throw them on the conveyor belt, which had no safety precautions.” Because they would quickly become a tripping hazard, I took this action.
‘The hopper frequently became clogged, requiring the unit to be shut down in order to free the clogged equipment. It is common sense to refrain from touching it while it is operational.
Ms. Simmons donned her wedding gown for a heartbreaking hospital ceremony days before her husband’s life support was disconnected.
It was not my obligation to turn on or off the machinery. However, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Mr. Simmons was working on the conveyor belt without turning it off, while I was performing another duty with my back to him.
“I turned around when he yelled “Ouch!” in a loud voice. He was knelt in an unusual posture, with his right arm and shoulder entangled within the equipment. Mr. Simmons’ neck was protruding from behind the machine.
I instantly pressed the emergency stop button, which rendered the entire unit inoperable. I raced outside and demanded that someone dial 999.
“When other people seized control of the situation in the unit, I went to acquire disc cutters to remove Mr. Simmons from the machinery, but I was instructed not to use them.
Instead, I walked to the entrance of the business park and advised emergency personnel where to go.
Gary King, general manager, told the jury that he operated in temporary buildings outside.
While waiting for rescuers, Mr. Simmons’ coworkers administered CPR, but he suffered catastrophic brain damage after a main artery was severed.
He stated that when he heard someone yelling “Dial 999!” he dialed the number without knowing what the emergency was.
Mr. King stated, “When I heard Mr. Major yelling for someone to dial 999, I did so without understanding why.
I sprinted approximately the length of a football field to reach the unit where I saw Mr. Simmons on his knees with his arm caught between a pulley and a conveyor belt. He didn’t say anything.
‘Initially, the call-taker instructed me to make Mr. Simmons as comfortable as possible as I awaited the arrival of the paramedics. However, when Mr. Simmons stopped breathing, it was decided to release him from the equipment.
“Once Mr. Simmons was lying flat on the floor, I performed CPR on him. I followed the call handler’s instructions to the letter. I repeated this process till the arrival of the paramedics.
At 4.28 p.m., an ambulance crew arrived at the location, and by 4.40 p.m., a Great Western Air Ambulance with a trauma specialist on board had also landed at the scene.
Mr. Simmons was then taken to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital for treatment.
Despite medical intervention, Mr. Simmons was never able to recover from his injuries, and he died on March 6 fifteen days later.
In addition to hearing from the electricians who installed the equipment, the jury also heard from other employees regarding their roles shortly after the tragedy.
Electrician Nicholas Barrow stated, ‘I visited the site on the day of the event because I had located a replacement circuit breaker for the newly installed company equipment.
“I went to the unit to determine whether the replacement part will fit the machine. When I arrived at the facility, the machinery and both conveyor belts were operating.
“I observed that the second conveyor belt, which had not been installed at the machine’s commissioning, lacked any safety precautions.
“I was astonished to see that the machine was being operated without safety guards. It was too boisterous to discuss my problems with anyone, so I left after 15 minutes.
Michael Raynor from the Health and Safety Executive, who visited the site six days after the incident and while Mr. Simmons was still alive, also testified before the jury.
Mr. Stott told the jury, “According to the prosecution, Mr. Simmons was working on a genuine death trap.”
‘Due to an improper configuration of the hopper, the shredder itself, a chute leading from the machine to the second conveyor belt would regularly become clogged, requiring people to clear it.
The conveyor belt would also become clogged with tire fragments. The machine should have been totally turned off while these procedures were being performed.