A man's tearful brother has described how he accidentally ran over and killed him.
David Potter, 57, was showing his brother Mark Potter a lorry for sale which Mark was looking to buy at Harris Commercial Repairs Ltd in Basildon, Essex.
Mark, 58, told the inquest at Essex Coroner's Court yesterday he had been waiting in the lorry for 10 minutes after agreeing to do a test drive.
Mark decided to start the engine and drive off after waiting, not knowing David was in front of the lorry on October 4 2019.
David Potter (pictured) was killed when his brother started the engine of a lorry without realising he was standing in front of it
David was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a 'much-loved' dad and stepdad, the inquest heard.
Mark told the coroner of how he lurched forward with the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) before he heard David 'shouting'.
Mark, from Higham in Kent said in a tearful statement: 'I saw him in the mirror at the back of the vehicle.
'I lost sight of him then, I couldn't see him in either of my mirrors. I sat there for some time, I don't know how long it was and I thought "just go on your own".
'At that point I moved the vehicle forward.'
Realising what he had done, he immediately called an ambulance. Three ambulances and an air ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after 1pm.
Mark said he had been 'excited' to see David when he arrived at the site as it had been a while since they'd last seen each other.
They greeted with a 'hug and kiss' before David began to show Mark the lorry in question.
Mark told the jury that he did a full check in each mirror and windscreen before moving off.
The inquest at Essex Coroner's Court heard that Mark waited in the lorry for 10 minutes before starting the engine after a full check in each mirror
Mark has a class 1 HGV licence.
Mark said it 'looked like' David had been fitting trade licence plates at the back of the vehicle when he last saw him.
He said he had moved the automatic vehicle at barely half a mile an hour before he heard shouting and turned off the engine.
He added: 'I couldn't see him, I didn't know what it was.
'The last place I saw him was at the back, I went around to the back and he wasn't there.
'I went all the way around to the front and I saw his glasses and phone at the front.
'He was at the front of it.'
A colleague of David's then he rushed out of one of the buildings to the sounds of a female voice shouting 'call an ambulance'.
Graham Walsh, another colleague, found David under the lorry.
He used a forklift truck to help lift the lorry off David so the paramedics could attend to him.
Kelly Spratt, Mark's partner who had come with him for the visit was waiting in their car before she saw Mark run passed reception.
She heard him say: 'My brother's under the lorry' before she called 999.
Mark was arrested by Essex Police but later released without charge.
The inquest will conclude today to determine David's cause of death.
The family earlier published an emotional tribute to David.
In a statement they wrote: 'David was loved by everyone he met. He had a big, loving heart and always put a smile on your face.
'He was the kind of person who would always put others first.
'The most warm and loving person you would ever meet, who lived life to the fullest with the people who meant most to him.
'The best dad, husband, brother, stepdad and grandad who loved his family more than anything.'
English (United States) ·