Man crushed to death in car wash while his vehicle was being cleaned
An elderly man was crushed to death while taking his car through an automatic car wash in Australia, a court has heard.
The 73-year-old had driven his car to a Chevron car wash in Melbourne in November 2019, then got out of the vehicle to re-enter an access code.
But before he could get back into the car, the wash cycle started and he was crushed.
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The man was treated for his injuries but died in hospital three days later.
After the horrific incident, the oil company Chevron was slapped with four negligence charges in December 2021.
Now, Melbourne Magistrates' Court is hearing how the incident unfolded.
Witness Pietrina Di Noto, who was next in line at the car wash that day, spoke about the tragedy in court this week.
Ms Di Noto told the court that the elderly man had asked her 'roughly' if she could move her car so that he could enter the access code.
When he saw the machine start up, he 'started to run' and tried to get back into the front seat of his car, but the door had gotten stuck in the car wash's gantry.
"I thought, 'Oh no, please get into the back seat'," she recalled.
The witness noted that the man had managed to open the front door just enough to get one foot inside, but he was knocked down by the car wash right after.
She told the court that it was 'clear' to her that 'it would have been better if he'd just walked out', and that it was 'obviously dangerous to get in the front'.
Meanwhile, WorkSafe Victoria allege in court documents that Chevron had failed to take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate risks, such as installing signage telling drivers not to exit their vehicle while the car wash is in operation, or fitting anti-collision bars or systems that would detect obstacles.
The insurance company also claimed that the gantry legs of the Melbourne car wash had been fitted with metal brackets, which would make for less space for cars - and people - in the wash bay, and it would have been reasonably practicable for these brackets to have been removed to reduce risk.
And WorkSafe alleges the car wash's operating system had 'failed', which shouldn't have allowed for customers to drive into the wash bay and exit their car to enter the access code on foot.
Court documents also see WorkSafe claim that it 'was reasonably practicable for Chevron to eliminate or reduce the risk by installing boom gates which would grant access to the wash bay only after a valid access code was entered'.
The court hearing continues.
LADbible have contacted Chevron for comment.
Ali Condon