Bangor Lecturer Accidently Killed by A Mechanical Digger’s Bucket
ByDr. Eilir Hedd Morgan, a 29-year-old Bangor University Lecturer in the School of Ocean Sciences died in a tragic accident when he was struck by a mechanical digger's bucket and crushed against a wall. Pathologist Dr Mark Lord said that he died of a head injury, Mirror reports.
The tragic incident occurred when the lever got trapped in the coat of the driver, causing the arm and bucket to swing round, BBC reports.
Morgan, a marine ecologist, was lending a hand with re-building work at a farm near Caernarfon, Gwynedd, in April. He was helping friends to prepare an area for a new kitchen. The digger was employed to break up concrete.
When Carrie Ann Langdon, the operator of the digger and girlfriend of Richard Link (who lives at the farm), was getting out of the machine to help Morgan to move a large piece of concrete, her coat caught on a lever swinging the bucket and striking Morgan.
Miss Langdon recalled:"It happened in a split second." Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones said Langdon hadn't disconnected the hydraulics system and the accident was caused 'entirely because the lever had been caught by the coat.' The mishap was entirely unexpected and sudden.
"The catching of the coat on a lever was an unforeseen event as far as Ms Langdon was concerned," Jones said, Daily Post reports.
Family remembered Morgan as 'a special son, brother, boyfriend, and friend to many.'
"It's very difficult to come to terms with our tragic loss but it is comforting to know that Eilir accomplished such a lot in his short life and that he meant so much to so many people. He has left us with many fond memories."
A university spokesman said that Morgan was popular and passionate about his work.
"He was amongst the first to win a scholarship under the Centre for Welsh Medium Higher Education, and became one of the few to lecture through the medium of Welsh in the field of ocean sciences. He will be sadly missed by ally."
"He was dedicated to the Welsh language and was a fantastic ambassador for the university and for Wales," the university said in a statement.