Fatal Crash: Drilling Rig Disaster After Shocking Safety Fail
Liam Smith, 35, of Helston, has been jailed for over five years after causing the death of Jessica Allman, 34, in a deadly crash. Smith’s careless failure to secure a drilling rig properly left Jessica fatally injured. He was also banned from driving and must retake his test.
How One Loose Strap Turned Deadly
- On 19 July 2022, Smith hitched a Beretta T24 hydraulic drilling rig to a Ford Ranger in Newquay.
- Despite having eight ratchet straps available, he used just one—worn and snapped—which was nowhere near enough.
- CCTV showed Smith driving along the A30 and stopping at Macsalvors in Redruth without checking the load properly. The rig was visibly unsecured.
- At a sharp left bend near Burras, the rig toppled off the trailer and smashed into Jessica’s Fiat Punto.
- Jessica suffered catastrophic injuries and later died from the impact.
- Emergency crews found a broken ratchet strap at the scene, and police confirmed poor load securing and overload caused the crash.
Police Lash Out at Reckless Driving
Jessica was a respected Young People Adviser, devoted to mental health support. She had just popped out of Costa Coffee in Helston, heading to a work meeting in Pool when the tragedy happened.
“This collision was the culmination of Smith’s wholesale disregard of load security and road safety,” said DC Helen Lentern from the Serious Collisions Investigation Team. “Had proper lashings and blocking been used, a single failing strap wouldn’t have caused the load to shift.” “Jessica was an innocent victim caught in a horrific moment. Nothing can bring her back, but today’s sentence offers her family some closure.”
Safety Rules Ignored—With Deadly Consequences
Since May 2022, law demands heavy plant machinery be secured with at least four lashings and proper blocking. Smith’s half-hearted job with one old strap failed miserably.
Loading the Ford Ranger and trailer way over weight limits made the rig dangerously unstable, especially on bends.
This avoidable disaster is a brutal lesson: securing loads properly isn’t just law—it saves lives.
