Rebecca Ableman was walking with her daughter Autumn when a crane on the back of a lorry swung around and struck her, leaving her with catastrophic head and brain injuries
A mum pushed her daughter’s pram to safety in her final act before a crane on a passing lorry struck her, causing fatal injuries, a court was told.
Rebecca Ableman was 30 when she was hit by the unsecured machinery on the back of Kevin Miller’s lorry as he drove through Willingham in Cambridgeshire on September 22, 2022.
She had been walking along the B1050 with her daughter, Autumn, when the boom crane swung around and hit her, inflicting devastating head and brain injuries, from which she died weeks later in hospital. Miller, 71 – who was unaware he had hit Ms Ableman until police traced his lorry – was sentenced to 13 months in prison, having previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Prosecutors at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday argued that it was Miller’s duty to secure the crane and had he done so, it would not have struck Ms Ableman.
In a statement to the court, her sister Natalie Rumbold wrote: “Her last act on this earth was to push the pram away, taking the full force of the impact to save her child.”
Her father Russell Ableman added: “Becky saved Autumn and died a hero,” reports ITV.
Sentencing, Judge Matthew Lowe said: “This defendant’s criminal failure to adequately secure the grabber crane on his trailer, is the cause of Rebecca’s death.” He added: “To secure the crane unit would have been the work of moments.”
The judge stated that imprisonment was the only suitable sentence, given the severity of the offence. The court was told that Miller had taken an alternative route than normal as he travelled north after collecting a load of metal for Network Rail from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex.
Prosecutor William Carter explained this involved additional accelerating, braking and navigating roundabouts, meaning that for four miles the boom and grab of the crane was swaying to one side.
Miller remained oblivious that the crane had struck Ms Ableman as he passed, and had carried on to his depot. He only learnt what had occurred when police arrived to arrest him, the court was told.
Mr Carter stated Miller’s behaviour in failing to properly secure the load “fell below the standard of a competent and careful driver”.
The prosecutor noted that aggravating factors included Ms Ableman being a vulnerable road user as a pedestrian, and Miller operating as a commercial driver.
Ms Ableman worked in healthcare and aspired to become a qualified mental health nurse, her family revealed.
Her partner Chris Tuczemskyi described it as “hard to put into words” what she meant to him and their daughter, calling her “determined, strong, adventurous, compassionate”.
“She pushed me to be a better person every day,” he said. “She was the woman I planned to marry and spend the rest of my life with.”
In mitigation, John Dye called it an “unfathomable tragedy” and said Miller had been “devastated by the harm he has caused”.
He explained Miller had been fastening his vehicle in this manner for 40 years and had driven 70 miles that day without incident. “What happened in that village was a freak accident,” he added.
He stated that Miller had a clean driving record prior to Ms Ableman’s death, and that he was deeply remorseful.