Lorry driver escapes manhole cover attack
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By Chris Tindall A LINCOLNSHIRE lorry driver had a narrow escape when a manhole cover dropped from a bridge smashed through the roof of his vehicle, narrowly missing him. The county’s road safety partnership says the incident on 6 July was beyond belief.
Tracey Lyner, secretary at Polypearl Moulded Products in Gainsborough, says the shocked driver returned from a delivery and told her: “Somebody has just nearly killed me.” The manhole cover went through the ibreglass roof of the Mercedes 7.5-tonner and landed on the loor of the lorry. “Seconds earlier it would have killed him, as it would have gone straight through the cab. Apparently there have been a lot of problems on that bridge with kids chucking stones, but never this serious. It is going in for a full roof repair, which will cost thousands,” she adds.
John Siddle, communications manager at the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, says he is shocked by the incident. “The lorry driver is very lucky, and the person who dropped it off the bridge is lucky that we are not looking at a murder inquiry.” A spokesman for Lincolnshire police is appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious on the railway bridge on the A631 Thorndike Way, or on the Middleield Lane bridge, to get in touch. “This was reckless behaviour that could have killed or seriously injured the driver,” he adds. “It could have caused him to lose control of the vehicle, causing a serious collision. It’s important we ind out who did this.”