Heartbroken dad accidentally ran over and killed his son, 3, as tot played on bike at family farm, inquest hears | The Sun
A HEARTBROKEN dad accidentally ran over and killed his three-year-old son as he played on his bike at the family farm, an inquest has heard today.
Ianto Jenkins died outside his home in the Clynderwen area of Pembrokeshire on August 3, 2021, after his dad failed to see him in the pick-up truck mirrors.
Father Guto Jenkins, 32, was pulling away from the farm to make a top soil delivery when little Ianto was crushed and suffered a fatal head injury.
Guto said in a statement he planned to take Ianto on the delivery run with him but the toddler changed his mind and wanted to carry on playing on his bike with his cousins.
Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Coroner's Court heard Guto was "satisfied it was safe" before pulling away in the silver Volkswagen Amtrak truck.
He said: “Satisfied it was safe I pulled away forwards and drove up the road. I did not see Ianto anywhere near the Volkswagen or the trailer.
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“I was satisfied it was clear and safe for me to pull away.
“I did not see him at any point despite checking my mirror and over my shoulder.
“I did not see, hear, or feel anything unusual.
“I received a call from my mum saying ‘Ianto is dead’. It was the worst call of my life.”
Guto, who is divorced from Ianto's mother, said he had not even driven out of the farm when he received the phone call from his mum letting him know.
He said: “I have no idea how Ianto came to be struck. I do not know what part of the trailer struck him.
“I still have flashbacks. There’s not a day that goes by I do not think of Ianto and the circumstances of his death at the age of three.
“It is a waking nightmare that I will live with for the rest of my life.
“The pain and guilt will not go away.”
The inquest in Llanelli, Wales, heard Ianto and his sister had been staying with their father at the family dairy farm.
Ianto's grandmother Menir Jenkins, 61, told the inquest she was working on her laptop in the farmhouse when Ianto’s older sister Seren came in shouting “Mamu(corr) Ianto is dead.”
She said: “she’s such a dramatic child I thought she was exaggerating and Ianto had grazed his knee.
“I could see him lying on the floor and I thought he had fallen off his bike and grazed his knee but as I got closer and was within a few inches I could see the back of his head was open.”
Mrs Jenkins said she covered Ianto’s body in a towel and called her son to tell him the horrific news.
She then called Ianto’s mum Chloe Picton, 27, who was away with her new partner at the time.
Mrs Jenkins said: “I told her I was so sorry it was so tragic and I hugged her and she hugged me back.
“She kept saying ‘I can’t believe it I want to see my baby.’”
Chloe paid tribute to her son last year saying: "Ianto was my blue-eyed boy, he was an inspiration to life, he was a kind little boy who was always smiling and laughing.
"His best friend was his older sister Seren, who were always joined at the hip.
"Ianto loved going to nursery and was excited to start his first day at school in Ysgol Beca in Efailwen in September.
"He loved being out on the farm and going on the tractor with his daddy.
"Ianto and I had a very strong bond, he was 'Mummy’s little boy' and was always by my side everywhere we went, now that’s been taken from me.
"No parent should lose a child and I would like people to respect our wishes, giving us space at this very difficult, heartbreaking time."
Pathologist Dr Andrew Bamber told the inquest Ianto's injury showed the head had been hit by a “very heavy” object “consistent with a pick up truck and trailer loaded with soil.”
The jury was told Ianto suffered other injuries to his upper body including a broken neck however it was not clear what struck him.
The hearing, at Llanelli Town Hall, continues.
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