A British firefighter has been charged with manslaughter after cows startled by a fire engine’s siren trampled a farmer who later died.
The Daily Mail reported Harold Lee, 75, was moving 100 dairy cows when the engine approached with its lights and siren activated.
Lee's son said the driver turned off the sirens at his request, but later became impatient when the bovines didn’t hurry up. He then “blasted them back on,” the newspaper reported.
The startled dairy cows turned and stampeded back over Harold, leaving him with serious head and chest injuries from which he died six days later.
The 49-year-old firefighter was arrested following a six-month investigation, and charged with manslaughter by gross negligence. He has been released on bail.
A Devon and Somerset Fire spokesman have refused to comment about the arrest but said earlier that the crew was on its way to a road accident when they came across the cattle, the newspaper reported.
