A telehandler driver has been handed a suspended sentence and fined after striking and killing a fellow worker at a construction site in Chesire.

In June 2023, 49-year-old James Connolly was working as a lift supervisor on the site, where Michael Nixon was also employed as a telehandler operator.

While walking from the welfare compound back to his work area, Connolly was struck by a reversing telehandler being operated by Nixon, resulting in injuries from which he later died.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the principal contractor had taken steps to minimise the need for reversing on site, including the creation of a turning circle, which was unobstructed at the time of the incident.

Despite this, Nixon, who was a qualified and experienced telehandler operator, reversed the vehicle without the aid of a banksman.

The investigation also found that, contrary to the site rules he had signed up to, Nixon had been using his mobile phone while in control of the telehandler.

As a result, at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 11 August 2026, Nixon was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and fined £800 (USD1,085.31). He was also ordered to pay £2,000 (USD2,713.28) in costs.

“Workplace transport incidents remain one of the biggest causes of deaths in the workplace. It is vital that drivers follow the site rules and do not cut corners and put lives at risk,” says HSE principal inspector Laura Royales.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of James Connolly.”

Quoted in a victim personal statement, Connolly’s daughter Amelia says she struggles with anger, following her father’s death.

“I am angry that my dad went to work and never came home,” she says. “Alongside the sadness there is also a constant sense of injustice. It is difficult to accept that someone could leave home for work and never return to their family.”