Luton man jailed for death of colleague crushed by road sweeper

A road sweeper driver and a road surfacing contractor were convicted at Guildford Crown Court yesterday (September 28) for causing the death of a man from Norfolk in Egham in 2018.

Cosmin Stanciu, 36, of Landrace Road in Luton, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving. He has also been banned from driving for three years and three months.

Stanciu was operating a LGV road sweeper on the night of June 1, 2018 at the Runnymede Roundabout as part of major roadworks being undertaken at the time. He was sweeping round the roundabout when he stopped to speak with nearby road surfacing operatives, expressing concern that they were too close to his vehicle.

Immediately after this, Stanciu manoeuvred the road sweeper to the right, pulling forward, intending to reverse and re-pass the area. The sweeper collided with Daniel Gooch, who was working on the road nearby. Daniel, a 40-year-old man from Norfolk, suffered multiple injuries to his head and body and he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

A joint investigation by Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there were multiple health and safety failings by his employer Toppesfield, who had failed to implement and monitor safe ways of working on the site.

Toppesfield Ltd were found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were fined £750,000. They have also been instructed to pay further costs which are still to be determined.

Investigating Officer Stuart Bonner, said: “This tragic incident shows how dangerous and devastating the effects of careless driving can be. The road resurfacing industry needs to learn from Daniel’s death and take action to avoid this type of unnecessary incident happening again in the future. Every road user has a responsibility to those around them, and Stanciu and Toppesfield failed on this occasion.

“I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Daniel’s family and friends, there are no words for such a sad and unnecessary loss. I hope that after today those affected can start rebuilding their lives after this tragic incident.”