Young mother 'crushed to death on school run' when bricks fell on head

A young mother was crushed to death on the school run when a pile of bricks fell from a crane onto her head, a court has heard.

Michaela Boor, 29, suffered a catastrophic head injury and died following the incident in Bow, east London.

Loughton-based firm Higgins Homes and four construction workers are now on trial at the Old Bailey. The firm is charged with corporate manslaughter and the men are all charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

On Monday, prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said that Ms Boor had been walking along Burdett Road with Chelsea Mustafa on the morning of 27 March 2018.

They had just dropped their children at a primary school and were walking to Lidl and Tesco to stock up for Ms Boor’s birthday the following day.

Their route took them past a construction site that was being developed by Higgins Homes, the court heard.

“A pallet of bricks that was being transported by a tower crane towards a loading bay immediately adjacent to the pavement along Burdett Way fell on to them,” Ms Healy said.

“Chelsea Mustafa ran into the road, away from the construction site. Although some bricks hit her on the back and her hand, she was able to avoid the bulk of the falling load.

“Michaela Boor did not make it off the pavement. She was hit by the falling bricks which fractured her skull and she sustained catastrophic brain injuries.”

Ms Boor received emergency treatment at the scene and was rushed to the Royal London Hospital, but despite surgery, her injuries were “unsurvivable”.

She died two days later, the jurors heard.

Higgins Homes was the principal contractor and designer of the project to build a block of flats.

The firm is charged with corporate manslaughter and a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act, which it denies.

Thomas Anstis, 69, of Banstead, Surrey, was the senior site manager and temporary work co-ordinator employed by Higgins Homes.

He was in charge of the building site and overseeing the work of subcontractors appointed by Higgins Homes and co-ordinating their activities.

Stephen Coulson, 69, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was director of Coulson Lifting Services which was contracted by Higgins Homes.

Coulson was the appointed person to plan the lifting operations on the site and was in overall control of them.

Ms Healy said it was not necessary for him to be permanently on site, but he must periodically visit the site to see whether any factors had changed which might necessitate a change to the lift plan. He was not at the site on the day of the incident.

Dawood Maan, 61, of Ashford, Kent, was the crane supervisor responsible for overseeing and supervising lifting operations on the site.

He was a self-employed contractor working for Coulson Lifting Services.

Alexander McInnes, 34, of Islington, north London, was the crane operator who was self-employed, working for contractor London Tower Cranes.

The four men are charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence, which they deny.