A mum initially thought her son was playing a “prank” on her when she came home to find his body after a freak woodworking accident. Susan and Peter Holmes thought it was just a joke when they returned home to find their son Joey, 23, lying “face down” – before they saw the gash to the side of his face.
Joey was sadly pronounced dead later the same day in hospital.
An inquest heard he had been using a powerful Coronet Envoy machine when the accident occurred in his home in Upper Cumberworth, Yorkshire.
A piece of wood reportedly flew out and struck the 23-year-old on the face.
A coroner heard the young man had been using the lathe to support a woodworking business he had started a year earlier, named Holme Valley Woodworks Limited.
His mum had come in to give Joey a takeaway curry at around 9pm, after she returned home from a meal out with her husband Peter and their friends.
In a statement read out in court, she described “nudging his head” with her foot, initially believing he was “playing a prank”.
But when she “got no response” she “screamed for Peter and put him in recovery position.”
She added: “There was a gash to the lest side of his nose. Pete started CPR.”
Susan then took over, while Peter raced to get help from their neighbour, an intensive care nurse, who quickly tried to help.
Paramedics then arrived and Joey was rushed to Barnsley Hospital – but his parents were later told their son had died.
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During the inquest today, pathologist Dr Kim Suvarna told Coroner Mrs Katy Dickinson the cause of death was blunt head trauma.
Describing the case as “strange” he said: “It seemed that the machine threw something into the face of this young man – but the facial trauma was not at the level capable of killing someone.
“However, it seems the blow to the head could render someone unconscious and cause him to lose control of his airway. It’s possible he lost control of his airway. It’s not unreasonable to link the machine and the trauma to this man’s death.”
His father Peter said in his statement how Joey worked “all hours” in his workshop and often “late into the night”.
One of the couples’ neighbours described Joey as “a genuinely nice person and very considerate”.
The inquest continues.
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
