Mum of boy killed by unsecured scaffolding board on van urges drivers to check heavy loads
Maria Dennis' 11-year-old son Harry died after being struck through the windscreen by a scaffolding board which wasn't secured properly
An East Sussex mum is calling for van drivers to take more responsibility when transporting heavy loads - after her son was killed by a loose scaffolding board hanging from a van.
Maria Dennis 11-year-old Harry died two days after being struck through the windscreen while travelling in his dad's car through Hooe in 2022.
Maria told Greatest Hits Radio that when she heard Harry had been involved in an accident, she "didn't believe it at first":
"I remember breaking down saying it can't be right - especially when I heard the air ambulance had been called.
"I thought you don't get an air ambulance unless it's serious.
"It was like my whole world would stop spinning. It was just numb and nothingness."
Harry's death was "easily avoidable"
She hopes sharing Harry's story will encourage drivers transporting heavy goods to make more effort to ensure they're doing it safely.
"An extra couple of minutes before that journey, if the scaffolding had been secured properly, it would never have happened," Maria added.
"It made me really angry that it could easily have been avoidable, which is when I started reaching out."
Now, having been on patrol with Sussex Police, and even speaking to drivers she's spotted herself, Maria said she's realised it's not a "one off" - but a "massive issue":
"People always think, 'I've been doing this for donkey's years. I know what I'm doing. Oh, it's fine. I'm only travelling down the road. I've done this journey loads of times'.
"That isn't the case - that's what the drivers who killed Harry thought."
The man driving the van which killed Harry was jailed for four years, and disqualified from driving for seven.
Calls for tougher legislation
Since the accident, Maria has also been working with Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore to urge for tougher legislation around transporting goods.
It's urging for a new government body to be brought in to "control how scaffolding businesses are run including safety standards, strengthening skills training and to improve the level of scaffolding competence".
It notes that the driver of the van claimed he had not received proper training before the incident.
Maria added:
"With the bigger lorries, there's lots of policies.
"You need a special driving licences and you're governed by a body.
"But the smaller trucks, they don't have that. They've got guidance, but they haven't got the strict training that they have to do."