Father-of-two, 36, killed when he tripped and fell into the path of a lorry while out for an evening run 

  • Jan Kroll, project engineer for Dr. Oetker, from Germany in UK on business
  • Incident occurred on December 2 last year in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire
  • Barry Crawshaw, driving the HGV at 6.55pm, unable to swerve past him
  • Mr Kroll 'was not in possession of any reflective material,' inquest heard 

By Harvey Day For Mailonline

Published: 09:39 GMT, 8 April 2016 | Updated: 10:17 GMT, 8 April 2016

A father-of-two was killed after he tripped over into the path of a lorry while out on an evening run.

Jan Kroll, 36, was a project engineer for frozen pizza firm Dr. Oetker and was in the UK on business, leaving his wife and two young children behind in his native Germany.

An inquest into his death in Preston, Lancashire, heard that on December 2 last year Mr Kroll was jogging along Wigan Road, in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, at 6.55pm, when he fell into the path of the HGV.

Barry Crawshaw, who was driving the HGV at the time, said he noticed Mr Kroll and realised he was stumbling, as though he was falling
Mr Kroll, from Germany, was in the UK on business. PC John Birch told an inquest Mr Kroll 'was not in possession of any reflective material'

Father-of-two Jan Kroll, 36, (pictured) was killed when he tripped and fell into the path of a lorry while out for an evening run in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, last December

He was running on the grass verge at the side of the road as there was no pavement and very little lighting.

Barry Crawshaw, who was driving the HGV at the time, said he noticed Mr Kroll and realised he was stumbling, as though he was falling. 

He tried to swerve past him to avoid a collision but was unable to.

Mr Kroll died at the scene from 'catastrophic' head injuries.

Mr Crawshaw told the inquest hearing: 'I drive along that road in question very frequently, several times a day, it wasn't the first time I had driven along it that day.

'I went under the motorway bridge, with the M6 above, and as I came out of the other side I put my full beam head lights on.

'I saw a figure on the left side and he was dressed in dark clothing and he was running towards me.

'He looked like he had tripped on something and began falling towards the road. 

'This happened in seconds. I could see that he was going to stumble into my direction.

'I steered away, putting my off set wheels to the white line as I tried to miss him. 

'I was aware of a noise and believe at that point I hit the person.'

It is thought that Mr Kroll could have tripped over something or he could have been dazzled by the head lights of the HGV, there were no other witnesses around to confirm any further details.

PC John Birch, a collisions investigator for Lancashire Police, said: 'Wigan Road has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour. The HGV was travelling southbound on the single carriageway.

'There is no street lighting, there is lighting under the motorway bridge but at the scene it was quite dark. 

'Also at the scene to the near side there was no pavement, there was a grass verge. 

'That is the side Mr Kroll was on. Mr Kroll had catastrophic injuries to his head. 

'He was dressed in running clothing, a mid-blue running jacket, black leggings and a black running hat, he was not in possession of any reflective material.

'I checked the HGV on two separate occasions, there were no contributory defects relevant. 

'The tachograph gives accurate speeds and this showed the vehicle was travelling at 43 miles per hour.

'The brakes were then applied and it went from 40mph until it stopped. This is well within the speed limit.

'It is possible if he was coming towards the HGV there could have been some dazzling. 

'It was unknown why he was stumbling. Mr Kroll was low down at the time of the collision suggesting he was falling or had fallen.'

Recording an accidental death conclusion coroner Sian Jones said: 'This is a very sad incident. 

'Mr Kroll was a young man and I understand that he has a wife and two young children, they are not here because they live in Germany but I would like to pass my condolences on to them for this tragic incident.

'On December 2, Mr Kroll was out jogging on Wigan Road, he was jogging along the grass verge towards the HGV which was driving in the opposite direction.

'For reasons that appear to be nothing more than unfortunate, he lost his footing. 

'He was seen by the driver stumbling and he was low down in the road when he was hit, consistent with someone falling or who had fallen.

'For accidental reasons, he fell when the HGV was coming past. 

'The driver saw the events unfold and did what he could. He steered to the right and braked to a stop, to miss Mr Kroll, but was not able to do that.

'He suffered massive and unsurvivable injuries and died instantly at the scene.' 

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