 An engineer at Heathrow Airport was found unconscious moments after his van was hit by a truck on the runway and died an hour later, an inquest has heard. John Coles, 44, had worked for British Airways at Heathrow for 28 years when he was fatally injured during a crash on the morning of February 14, 2018. His van, operated by BA, was involved in a collision with a pick-up truck operated by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL). His inquest, held at West London coroner's court on Monday, heard Mr Coles complained of chest and shoulder pain but waited more than an hour for a paramedic to arrive. After around an hour he went into cardiac arrest due to internal bleeding and never woke up. He'd also suffered a torn aorta – the largest artery in the body. Jurors at the inquest heard a colleague, Bhupinder Sandu, phoned Heathrow's emergency line moments after the incident, but after questioning from HAL and London Ambulance Service (LAS) lawyers he admitted he was unsure about what he said during the call. Mr Sandu also said he was unaware of any speed limit for vehicles crossing taxiways at the airport in 2018, saying he was aware of another vehicle travelling at 70mph in the past. He said he found out about the 20mph speed limit after Mr Coles's death. John Coles had worked for British Airways for more than 20 years (Picture: MyLondon/BPM Media) He died around an hour after the crash on the runway (Picture: MyLondon/BPM Media) A lawyer for HAL said there was 'no misunderstanding', but at the time of the accident Mr Sandu 'should have known' about the speed limit. The HAL lawyer added: 'When you said earlier there was no speed limit, what you meant was you did not know that there was a speed limit.' Pathologist Dr Hiam Ali concluded Mr Coles died of multiple injuries, including a torn aorta, due to the damaging effects of splintered ribs broken by the impact of the crash. She dismissed th){kind=link}
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An engineer at Heathrow Airport was found unconscious moments after his van was hit by a truck on the runway and died an hour later, an inquest has heard.
John Coles, 44, had worked for British Airways at Heathrow for 28 years when he was fatally injured during a crash on the morning of February 14, 2018.
His van, operated by BA, was involved in a collision with a pick-up truck operated by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL).
His inquest, held at West London coroner’s court on Monday, heard Mr Coles complained of chest and shoulder pain but waited more than an hour for a paramedic to arrive.