Paralympic shooter dies in ‘accident waiting to happen’ at training facility, court heard

A Paralympic athlete died in an “accident waiting to happen” when a steel bar fell, an Old Bailey sentencing hearing was told.

Abdullah Hayai, a wheelchair user from the United Arab Emirates, was shot. He was killed when the training unit collapsed In the year Flames in the Wind at the training facility in Newham, London as he trains for the World Para Athletics Championships in July 2017.

UK Athletics, the organizer of the event, was convicted of corporate manslaughter.

Keith Davies, 78, a former UK athletics official, has been convicted of breaching health and safety legislation. Mr Davies and UK Athletics pleaded guilty at trial earlier this year.

Prosecutor John Price Casey told Judge Richard Mark Casey that key parts of the weapon that killed Mr Hayai, 36, were missing.

The entire structure collapsed in the wind and a heavy metal bar weighing 25 kg hit the athlete on the head. Mr Hayaye, who had cerebral palsy, died at the scene.

The court heard a victim impact statement from Dariah Rasheed Zaid Al-Yahyai, ​​the victim’s widow, about how her husband’s death left her with five young children alone.

“I was expecting news of his victory and success so it was a big shock for me,” she said.

“The news came to me suddenly. At first I couldn’t understand it and I didn’t believe it and today that moment is still in my mind.

“What happened was due to gross negligence which could have been avoided if safety regulations had been followed.

“My husband went out representing his country and came back a dead body with the name of the UAE uplifted.”

Mr Davies and representatives of UK Athletics listened as the prosecution explained how key support elements had gone missing from the housing of the heavy shot put that afternoon.

According to Casey, Mr. Davis told investigators that the devices were assembled according to instructions.

“At the very least,” argued Mr. Price, the officer “should have known it was wrong.”

He added, “The evidence shows that he knew exactly what he said, so this is not the truth.”

An expert called to the Newham site after the crash said some screws were missing, and Casey said there was a “culture and practice” of assembling the cabin without key pieces.

“It was an accident waiting to happen,” he told the court.

UK Athletics’ legal statement issued years after the incident was “a most inappropriate document by a national sporting body and one to be ashamed of”, prosecutors said.

UK Athletic’s Casey said he tried to put all the blame on Mr Davies “and even seemed to point the finger at the Newham position”.

Representing Mr Davies, Mark Balisz Casey wrote to the court in advance of his client’s sentencing.

Mr Davies said he had found it “really hard” to come to terms with the athlete’s death.

“I wake up every night thinking about his loss and his poor family,” he said.

“After learning about the murder investigation, these feelings intensified.”

The trial continues and Judge Markos is expected to deliver his sentence on Tuesday.