Newly released images reveal the alarming moment when a crane, inadequately fastened to a truck’s trailer, swung perilously just before fatally striking a mother. Tragically, the incident occurred as she was pushing her child in a stroller.

In a heart-wrenching act of bravery, 30-year-old Rebecca Ableman was struck in the head in Willingham, Cambridgeshire, right after ensuring her two-year-old daughter, Autumn, was out of harm’s way.

The driver of the truck, 71-year-old Kevin Miller, continued his route, completely oblivious to the tragedy that unfolded shortly after 11 a.m. on September 22, 2022.

It was only hours later, upon returning to his depot and being approached by law enforcement, that Miller became aware of the devastating accident.

A video clip, recently circulated by the Daily Mail, captures the moment Miller’s truck traveled down the road with the crane precariously suspended, just before it struck Ms. Ableman.

These new images starkly illustrate the fragile manner in which the crane was attached to the rear of Miller’s vehicle, underlining the gravity of the oversight.

Checks showed that he had failed to secure the crane to the bed of his lorry and instead attached it loosely to an 18-ton load of disused railway track he was transporting for scrap. 

The load then shifted during his journey on a winding road, causing the boom to swing out.

Shocking new images show an unsecured crane swinging from the trailer of a lorry moments before it struck and killed a mother as she pushed her toddler in a pram

The crane had not been secured to the lorry’s trailer and was instead attached to an 18-ton load of disused railway track

Rebecca Ableman, 30, was hit on the head by the crane in Willingham, Cambridgeshire, seconds after pushing her two-year-old daughter Autumn to safety in a final act of heroism

Miller, of Bawsey, was jailed for 13 months on Tuesday at Peterborough Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by careless/ inconsiderate driving. He was also banned from driving for two years and six months.

Ms Ableman’s heartbroken partner Chris Tuczemskyi told the court earlier this week that he had been planning to have fish and chips for dinner with his girlfriend on the day she died. 

Their daughter Autumn started school for the first time in 2024, with Chris admitting life was ‘still hard’. 

He said in a victim statement: ‘Becky died because basic safety measures were not taken. A £10 ratchet strap could have prevented this.’ 

Miller’s shocking lax attitude to safety happened despite industry body the Association of Lorry Loaders Manufacturers and Importers launching a campaign in February 2022 – just seven months before Miller’s fateful journey – called ‘Strap down your loader crane’.

Ms Ableman was near her home in the village of Willingham when she received the fatal blow from behind.

The mental healthcare assistant was flown to hospital by air ambulance with catastrophic head and brain injuries but died just over three weeks later when her life support was turned off.

Her sisters Natalie and Christina revealed her heroism in their impact statement yesterday, saying: ‘Her last act was to push the pram out of the way, taking the force herself and saving her child.’

The defendant, of King’s Lynn, Norfolk, was due to go on trial in February for causing death by dangerous driving.

But the prosecution accepted an alternative charge he admitted of causing death by careless driving, following consultations with expert witnesses and Mrs Ableman’s family.

Kevin Miller, 71-year-old driver of the lorry, was this week jailed for 13 months at Peterborough Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by careless/ inconsiderate driving

Miller remained unaware that the crane had left Ms Ableman with unsurvivable head injuries as he carried on with his run

The court heard yesterday how Miller had set out from his depot in King’s Lynn at 3.50am and had driven to a Network Rail depot in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, to pick up his load of scrap rails.

He left the depot at around 8.30am, heading back north and going down the B1050 country road through Willingham because traffic was heavy on his usual route. 

Prosecutor William Carter said: ‘As he went through Willingham, the boom on his loader crane slewed to the near side. That left it in the position which we can see on CCTV where the crane grab can be seen overhanging the nearside of the lorry.’

He said that Miller had ‘failed to adequately secure the boom on his crane, which amounted to carelessness’ and which ‘fell below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver’.

‘It was that which led to Rebecca’s death because leaving it unsecured enabled it to slew from the lorry trailer and it ended up sticking out over the pavement in a position to strike Rebecca on the back of her head, causing her death,’ Mr Carter added.

‘The route he was taking on the B1050 was not the route he regularly used. It meant he was travelling along a road which was not straight and flat. He had to negotiate a number of roundabouts and brake a number of times.’

Mr Carter told the court the crane boom was jutting out for between 30 and 40 seconds before the collision on the 30mph limit road.

Miller ‘drove on apparently completely unaware that anything untoward had happened’, with the crane still hanging off his trailer.

Once he had driven through Willingham, he spotted in his mirror that the crane had moved and pulled over to mechanically move it back into place.

He then carried on his journey, stopping at March to drop off his load before returning to his yard in King’s Lynn where police were waiting to speak to him after identifying his lorry from CCTV. 

Mr Carter said: ‘He had not taken what the Crown say was an elementary precaution by strapping the boom down to the trailer itself.

‘All that was required was further strapping which could be thrown over the boom and tightened but he had not done that.’

As he was arrested, Miller protested: ‘What happened mate? I ain’t hit no one mate.’

The defendant insisted he had always secured the crane the same way by attaching it to his load, thinking that its hydraulics were sufficient to keep it in position.

He also claimed he had been stopped routinely by vehicle inspectors and had never been told that the crane should be strapped down separately.

But Mr Carter said: ‘The prosecution say that, self-evidently, this method of securing the crane and boom was inadequate.’

Experts found that Miller’s crane was also dangerous and beyond economic repair, with defects present prior to the collision, suggesting there had been ‘a sustained period where little or no maintenance had been carried out’.

An overload safety system had been overridden, there were cracks in the chassis and bolts holding the crane down were in poor condition, with no locks on stabilisers which were ‘pinned awkwardly’. 

An emergency stop button was also not working and hydraulic hoses and pipes were in an ‘appalling’ condition.

Ms Ableman was hailed a hero by her sisters, who said: ‘Her last act was to push the pram out of the way, taking the force herself and saving her child.’

Ms Ableman pictured with Autumn and partner Chris Tuczemskyi, 27

Mr Carter said there was also ‘excessive play’ in the slew, which may have contributed to excessive movement of the loader crane during travel, particularly when cornering.

Paying tribute to his partner shortly after her death, Mr Tuczemskyi, 37, said: ‘To me, she was my light in the darkest of nights, my rock for when I stumbled and my best friend.

‘She made me a better person, she pushed me to be and do better because she could see my potential when I could not.’

Mr Tuczemskyi started a fundraising page on GoFundMe in memory of his partner, who worked in a mental health hospital in Cambridge, with funds going to East Anglian Air Ambulance and Addenbrooke’s Neuro ICU.

He was also raising funds for Autumn to explore the world and create a memorial bench for her late mother.

She had her first day at Willingham Primary School in September 2024. 

DC Kev Drury, who investigated, said: ‘This was a shocking incident where an innocent young mum, who was walking with her daughter following a visit to a farm shop, was killed because of Miller’s carelessness in not securing the crane properly.

‘I hope this case serves as a reminder to all professional drivers to make sure their loads and equipment are fully secured. Rebecca would be alive today had Miller done this.

‘I would also like to thank the passers-by who went to help Rebecca in the aftermath of the collision despite the traumatic scene.

‘My thoughts continue to be with her family and friends as they continue to grieve.’