A “much loved young man” was killed while he was working at a bus depot.
Albin Trstena, a 25-year-old from Tottenham, was working for Cordant Cleaning Ltd at an Arriva bus depot in Hemel Hempstead.
As a colleague reversed the bus out of the wash down area Albin was struck, causing fatal injuries.
His devastated sister said: “When we received the news Albin had died, we were left devastated and our whole world came crashing down around us.
“His presence at home was so alive. Albin would always do lots for the family, but not just for the family, he gave of himself and would always help other people where he could. He was a brother and son to be proud of.”
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Arriva and Cordant Cleaning Ltd were at fault for the incident which took place in November 2019.
The HSE found that Arriva failed to properly assess the risk of vehicle-pedestrian conflict, and both they and Cordant Cleaning Limited failed to implement a suitable system of work to control this risk.
HSE inspector Roxanne Barker said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a much loved young man.
“There was a failure to undertake safety measures to segregate vehicles and pedestrians.
“They also failed to properly consider who was responsible for determining and implementing suitable measures to ensure safe working practices when contracting out some of the activities performed within a shared workplace.”
There were also insufficient measures in place to protect pedestrians from vehicles being moved around the depot and to ensure that walkways within the perimeter of the yard were being utilised.
Arriva pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £32,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,392.
Cordant Cleaning Ltd offered no plea but was found guilty of a Health and Safety Act breach. It was fined a nominal £1,000 as it is in administration.
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