Pensioner Died After Fall on First Night in Wormwood Scrubs
Inquest hears staff were shocked such an elderly man was in prison
Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Picture: Chmee2
A “frail and elderly” prisoner died of a heart attack days after killing a woman in a Sainsbury’s car park. William Heagren, 87, confused the pedals on his Ford Fusion and reversed into Jeanette Newman, 64, and Sarah Taylor, 53, minutes after he bumped his car on a bollard.
Ms Newman hit her head on the pavement and later died from her injuries while Ms Taylor was left with life-changing injuries from the crash on May 26, 2019. Mr Heagren later died from a heart attack after he broke his hip at Wormwood Scrubs prison, an inquest at West London Coroner’s Court heard on Friday (29 March).
The pensioner, who used a Zimmer frame, was sentenced to 40 months in prison for dangerous driving offences – but he died nine days later on December 14, 2019. At the time an expert collision investigator concluded at Harrow Crown Court the tragedy was a result of driver error and was “a classic case of pedal confusion”.
Judge Lana Wood jailed Mr Heagren for 27 months for death by dangerous driving and 13 months for serious injury by dangerous driving. She also refused to give him bail after his lawyer pleaded for a suspended sentence.
West London Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Heagren’s inmates reported he had been “virtually screaming” and “hallucinating” in his cell at Wormwood Scrubs prison. Evidence was read out by coroner Geraint Williams from inmate Christopher Hart saying, “He described [Mr Heagren] as getting worse and worse and he said Mr Heagren was hallucinating. He said he was in extreme pain. Mr Heagren was saying he couldn’t take it anymore and he was virtually screaming.”
A week-long inquest at West London Coroner’s Court looked at whether the way Mr Heagren was treated at Wormwood Scrubs Prison contributed to his death. Summing up evidence from the week-long trial on its final day, Mr Williams said Mr Heagren had heart problems and suffered from arthritis and chronic pain.
Wormwood Scrubs prison GP Maria Gomez described Mr Heagren as a “frail, elderly man using a Zimmer frame”. It was recommended he be put in a bottom bunk. The coroner reported that a nurse had said “he was struck by his age and shocked that he was in prison.”
The court also heard how Mr Heagren was taken off Tramadol pain medication and put on another similar drug as prison staff feared he could be bullied or have his drugs stolen by other inmates. When Mr Heagren was accessed on 10 December, his heart rate had reached 136 beats per minute and on 12 December he was described as having deteriorated.
Summing up evidence from nurse Thomas, the coroner said, “It was a very different person she saw on the 12th. She could not even touch his leg and he had let rip when she did. He was completely different from the day before.”
Mr Heagren was taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington after he broke his leg but despite doctors managing to recover a pulse twice, he died of an unexpected heart attack. Different hospital doctors had given different suggestions of how Mr Heagren broke his leg. One account said he broke it while trying to move a mattress while another said he had fallen in bed.
A jury spokesperson said, “Mr William Heagren arrived at Wormwood Scrubs as a frail 87-year-old man with complex medical needs. As a result of a fall on December 5 which occurred in the first night centre, Mr Heagren sustained a hip fracture which remained undiagnosed until it became dislocated. Mr William Heagren suffered a cardiac arrest while awaiting hip surgery at St Mary’s Hospital.”
Jacob Phillips - Local Democracy Reporter
April 4, 2022