Court blames excessive speed

A teenage farmhand in Tasmania who died in a forklift rollover was driving inappropriately and at excessive speed without a seatbelt, a coroner has ruled. AAP reports that Eric Marshall, 19, made an inexplicable sharp right-hand turn at the property in October 2014 moments before being thrown from the 4 T forklift and crushed. Marshall, who was an inexperienced forklift driver, had been using the machinery to move a tyre. Coroner Andrew McKee described his death as a tragic accident and determined the "primary cause" of the accident was Marshall's driving. "Unfortunately, a momentary act of less-than-diligent driving by Mr Marshall has resulted in his death," McKee concluded. "He was driving it at an excessive speed and was swerving over the roadway."