![\"Roland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_292613682-a70a.jpg\")
\n\t\tRoland Krumins, 66, was trapped between the open driver\u2019s door and his vehicle as it crashed into a wall in Halifax, West Yorkshire (Picture: Melanie Krumins\/SWNS)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tRoland Krumins, 66, was trapped between the open driver\u2019s door and his vehicle as it crashed into a wall in Halifax, West Yorkshire (Picture: Melanie Krumins\/SWNS)<\/p>\n
A granddad was crushed to death by his own Land Rover after he forgot to use the handbrake, an inquest heard.<\/p>\n
Roland Krumins, 66, pulled over and stepped out of the vehicle while on his way to work<\/a> in Halifax, West Yorkshire, on April 6 last year.<\/p>\n But he did not apply the handbrake and the Discovery started rolling down the road, eventually trapping him when it crashed into a wall.<\/p>\n A crash investigator told an inquest into Roland\u2019s death he would have had no chance of either stopping the vehicle once it started rolling or getting out of its way after trying to bring it to a halt.<\/p>\n Bradford<\/a> Coroner\u2019s Court heard Roland, who stopped the car for an unknown reason, \u2018instinctively\u2019 tried to regain control of the car as it began rolling.<\/p>\n But the vehicle veered towards a mill building \u2013 trapping him between the door and the car.<\/p>\n Assistant Coroner Angela Brocklehurst said\u00a0Roland\u00a0died from crush asphyxia and recorded a conclusion of accidental death.<\/p>\n The hearing was told the car was left in neutral with the keys in the ignition and the handbrake had not been engaged.<\/p>\n Forensic Collision Investigator PC Bhupinder Sood said\u00a0Roland\u00a0would have had no chance of stopping the vehicle once it began moving.<\/p>\n He said: \u2018Someone isn\u2019t going to stop a vehicle at that weight.<\/p>\n \u2018There is nothing he would have been able to do other than leave it.<\/p>\n \u2018The way the marks are, it\u2019s happened so quick, it\u2019s unlikely he had time to get out the way.\u2019<\/p>\n Christopher Turner, who found\u00a0Roland, said he saw the car with its hazard lights on and the driver\u2019s door open against the wall.<\/p>\n It was only when he passed back a few minutes later that he spotted\u00a0Roland\u00a0\u2018laid half in and half out of the vehicle\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tFollow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t Metro\u2019s on Whatsapp! Join our community<\/a> for breaking news and juicy stories.<\/p>\n Emergency services were called but\u00a0Roland, who was unconscious, was found to have no pulse and was declared dead.<\/p>\n There were no witnesses to the incident, and CCTV showed no issues with\u00a0Roland\u2019s driving before the tragedy.<\/p>\n Roland\u2019s family said he had spent 45 years working in retail, rising to become a manager and making \u2018many friends\u2019 along the way.<\/p>\n He met wife Melanie on a blind date almost four decades ago, and the couple married in 1990.<\/p>\n They went on to have two daughters and were later \u2018blessed with grandchildren\u2019, the inquest heard.<\/p>\n Speaking after the hearing, Melanie described her husband as a devoted family man, adding that \u2018everything revolved around family\u2019.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Apps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg\")
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