Man dies after wife runs him over in car park in 'tragic accident'

Daily Mirror

31-07-2025

In a freak accident, Elaine Valentine - thinking she was accelerating - accidentally put the car into reverse, knocking over her 72-year-old husband, David Charles Seymour Chivers
A man has died after his wife ran him over in a "tragic accident".
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David Charles Seymour Chivers, 72, and his wife, Elaine Valentine, were at a car park close to the Bracebridge Recreation Ground, where they were holding an event the following week, at the time of the tragedy in September last year. After arriving at the car park, David got out of the vehicle to remove a height barrier, which would allow them access to the recreation ground.
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An inquest into his death at Nottingham Coroner's Court heard how the couple were standing together next to the barrier when Elaine got into the driving seat, Nottinghamshire Live reports.
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Meanwhile, David kept trying to reach the padlock, however it was situated at a height that made doing so difficult, coroner Sarah Wood said. He was standing next to the driver's side of the car, with the driver's door open. The automatic Vauxhall Insignia then reversed and David was knocked to the ground before he was "suddenly run over".
A post-mortem examination found David died due to a head injury, having sustained severe trauma to the brain that was "incompatible with life".
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Recording the death as accidental, coroner Wood said: "Mr Chivers died of a head injury he sustained when the vehicle reversed, causing him to fall to the ground and suddenly ran over him.
"He placed himself in a vulnerable position and when Ms Valentine pressed the accelerator, the vehicle reacted abruptly and caused a sudden increase in speed. This left him with little time to react and knocked him to the ground.
"What happened next was a tragic event and I find it is more likely than not that Ms Valentine panicked in an attempt to move the car away from Mr Chivers. Due to the vehicle being in reverse, this led to the vehicle moving towards him and suddenly running over him, causing the head injury, which was his cause of death.
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"This was a tragic accident which I'm sure Ms Valentine is very unlikely to recover from."
Emergency services were called to the scene by a member of the public but David was pronounced dead at the scene.
PC Philip Broughton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the call was made shortly after 10.50am and Ms Valentine likely had "sudden acceleration syndrome".
This occurs when a driver intends to brake but instead steps on the accelerating pedal, leading to panic and confusion.