A 76-year-old farmer died from multiple injuries after his grandson attempted to save his life by pushing him from an out-of-control vehicle.

Terence Rogers suffered a complex hip fracture and bleeding, along with rib and spine fractures and died in a field near his farm at Rhos, Llanbister Road, near Llandrindod Wells.

Pontypridd Coroner’s Court heard that at around 8pm on September 3, 2019, Mr Rogers was standing on the left side of a telehandler vehicle, against the wishes of his grandson Stephen Rogers, who was driving at the time.

Stephen said in court that the vehicle lost power on a steep bank and began to roll down at around 20mph. He accepted that he pushed his grandfather from the vehicle “with the intention to save his life”.

Terence fell on the ground and rolled down the bank, and the telehandler flipped and trapped his grandson under the vehicle. The court heard that Terence stumbled over and took a smartphone from his grandson’s pocket.

Stephen, who was conscious, said that his grandfather had difficulty trying to work out how to use the phone to call the emergency services. Stephen then told his grandfather to find help from a local farmer.

Stephen recalled that his mother Suzannah Rogers found him trapped under the vehicle and she called for the emergency services.

Paramedic Sion Breeze told the court that when they arrived at the scene that they were informed that a second person involved in the collision had made their way trying to get help but was nowhere to be seen.

A police officer said that at around 11.22pm a search had started to try and find Mr Rogers. His body was found “stone cold to the touch” lying in a ‘hollow’ up to 200 metres away from the telehandler at around 11.30pm.

Health and safety executive Sarah Baldwin Jones told the court that the telehandler was “not well maintained” and that a missing door was “likely a contributory factor that allowed Terence to step on the telehandler and be carried”, and had it been in “better repair” the incident may have been avoided.

Senior coroner Graeme Hughes concluded that Terence Rogers died from injuries either following expulsion from a moving vehicle, falling from this event or combination of the two.

The coroner offered his deepest condolences to Mr Rogers’ family.