Mark Foley

PFD Report Partially Responded Ref: 2015-0204-wp24839
Date of Report 1 June 2015
Coroner Philip Sharp
Coroner Area Cumbria
Response Deadline est. 27 July 2015
1 of 2 responded · Over 2 years old
Sent To
  • Minister of Defence
  • British Army
Response Status
Responses 1 of 2
56-Day Deadline 27 Jul 2015
Over 2 years old — no identified published response
About PFD responses

Organisations named in PFD reports must respond within 56 days explaining what actions they are taking.

Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Coroner's Concerns AI summary
Driver inexperience and the commander's failure to wear a safety harness, due to permitted discretion and lax enforcement of standing orders, led to the fatal incident.
Responses
Ministry of Defence
Response received (text not yet extracted)
Action Should Be Taken
In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you to take such action. I my view therefore you should consider: -

1. Some form of additional training for inexperienced drivers, under safe conditions, to test them in dealing with a loss of control of the vehicles in which they are learning to drive.

2. To devise a system and/or audit procedure to check that :-

(a) Commanders are abiding by the rules on the wearing of safety harnesses and (b) Senior officers are enforcing and checking the compliance with the standing orders.
Report Sections
Investigation and Inquest
On the 11th June 2014 I commenced an investigation into the death of Sgt Mark Colin Foley who was born on the 3rd August 1982. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 1st May 2015. The conclusion of the inquest was that Mark died from

(1) Multiple injuries and his death was an accident
Circumstances of the Death
On the 4th June 2014 at a local Army training area an RMWIK converted Land Rover was being driven by It went out of his control due to his inexperience in driving the vehicle. The deceased who was commander of the vehicle and a front seat passenger was ejected from the vehicle as it left the road he having not put on his safety harness. He landed in front of the vehicle which proceeded to roll over him causing the fatal multiple injuries. I concluded that the accident was caused by the inexperience of the driver and Sgt Foley’s death was caused by the failure to wear a safety harness. I concluded that Sgt Foley’s failure to wear a safety harness was as a result of a combination of a discretion to given to commanders of vehicles not to wear safety harness, a failure to enforce standing orders by senior officers requiring the wearing of safety harnesses.

Data sourced from Courts and Tribunals Judiciary under the Open Government Licence.