A HIGHWAYS engineer died after falling 120ft from a motorway bridge, an inquest heard yesterday.
Father-of-two Andrew Parkin, 46, was hit by a lorry travelling east on the M62 after jumping from Brown Cow Bridge, near Scammonden Reservoir, on April 10, Huddersfield Coroner’s Court was told.
The court heard married Mr Parkin, of Poplar Grove, Bradford, had struggled with work-related stress, anxiety and depression for five months before his death.
A few hours before jumping, Mr Parkin, who had been seeing a psychiatrist and was taking anti-depressants, had told his wife that he was going to watch one of his sons play rugby.
Mr Parkin, a principal highways engineer, was spotted falling from the bridge by motorists travelling in both directions.
The motorway was closed eastbound between junctions 22 and 24 for several hours after the incident just before 1pm on the Saturday.
Brown Cow Bridge – also known as Scammonden Bridge – is 120ft above the motorway.
Recording a verdict that Mr Parkin had taken his own life coroner Tim Ratcliffe said: “The evidence is clear that Andrew intended to take his life when he jumped from the bridge and sustained multiple injuries that must have caused death instantaneously.”
