Car thief caught by two burly truckers 'died after they sat on him until police arrived'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:29 PM on 10th August 2010

A car thief died after two burly truckers stopped him trying to steal a 4x4 then sat on him until the police arrived, an inquest heard.

Seventeen-stone Brian Machin restrained Bernard Doherty with a knee on his shoulder and chest, while William Jones lay across his legs.

The lorry drivers restrained the 24-year-old car jacker after he had tried to steal Mr Jones's Mitsubishi Shogun then called police.

But when officers arrived they found the two men restraining an unconscious man.

The father-of-one could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at hospital.

But the two cousins who were arrested over the death told the hearing they did not intend to hurt him.

Mr Machin and Mr Jones were arrested on suspicion of unlawful killing and spent months on bail until the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take action.

An inquest at Hanley Town Hall heard today how Mr Jones had been followed as he drove to Mr Machin's home in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent on January 9 last year.

Doherty approached him and said: 'Give me the keys to the Shogun, if you don't, I'll turn you over'.

The inquest heard he then snatched the keys and jumped into the driver's seat of the Shogun. But Mr Jones struggled with Doherty before Mr Machin pulled him out of the vehicle.

They restrained him and told the inquest they thought he had stopped struggling because he knew he could not escape.

Mr Jones, 57, told police: 'I said something like "Give it up son, you aren't going anywhere," and it was like he gave up.

'We weren't restricting his breathing as far as we were aware. We didn't want to hurt him, we just wanted to let the police have him. We didn't want to assault anybody.'

A post-mortem found Mr Doherty died from crush asphyxia due to an object pressing on his chest area.

Mr Machin, aged 53, told police: 'If he had said "You're hurting me" then we would have pulled him out from under the car.

'There was no malice towards the lad. I didn't think I was hurting him.'

The inquest heard police, paramedics and hospital medics all failed to revive Doherty, who lived in Stockport, Greater Manchester, but was in Stoke-on-Trent for a family funeral.

The inquest continues.

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1301824/Car-jacker-died-burly-truckers-sat-police-arrived.html