When thinking of untimely deaths in the world of music, the countless stories of drug overdoses, vehicle tragedies, and mysterious disappearances come to mind, yet when compared to these common fates met by lonely or tortured artists, the case of Mike Edwards’ death comes off as truly bizarre.
In September of 2010, the former cellist of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) was killed instantly when a bale of hay rolled down a grass field, through a wire fence and onto his van in England’s South West.
Although a freak accident, two farmers were brought to trial recently, originally accused of negligence leading to the musician’s death; but now after lasting almost two years, the result of the trial sees the two men walking free after being found not guilty.
According to BBC News, the former cellist was working for a water delivery firm at the time of his death, while self-employed contractor Russell Williams was bailing up cut grass nearby.
Williams had been hired by farm owner Brian Burden to do the job, and told Plymouth County Court that, he had left the bale “halfway down the field” and the weather was clear and dry.
Both Williams and Burden were originally accused of health and safety offenses with prosecutor Robert Lowe citing negligence, telling the court: “It was 3rd September just before lunchtime when a man called Mike Edwards was driving the A381 near Halwell in Devon when a large round bale of hay weighing half a tonne burst through a hedge near where he was driving and crashed on to the roof of his car.”“Once bale rolls down a hill there is nothing to stop it. It is a risk you cannot afford to take.”
According to Lowe the strip of roadway “where people drive past all the time” was busy, and while acknowledging that the incident was not caused directly by the defendants, their carelessness impacted on the tragic result. “Once bale rolls down a hill there is nothing to stop it. It is a risk you cannot afford to take.”
The defendants told the court that bale should be ejected “across a slope” in order to stop it rolling away, but prosecutor Robert Lowe argued that the manufacturers of balers – the machines used to compress the raked crops – should be taking “suitable measures” to eliminate the risks of them tipping over.
Edwards was 62 at the time of the accident, and as judge Paul Darlow noted to the jury early on in the case: “The deceased person driving the van was someone who was, certainly to some of us of a certain generation, quite a well known musician.”
The cellist joined Electric Light Orchestra in 1972 and made a name for himself with his playing and signature exploding cello. After two years he left the band going on to work with Barclay James Harvest and continued to teach cello and play in jazz and classical groups until his untimely death.
While the case’s verdict offers cold comfort to Edwards’ family, it has sparked new calls for an update to health and safety rules in order to prevent a similar tragedy. However, it does stand to reason to assume that there’s little that can be done to prevent such a freak accident from occurring again.
At the close of this truly bizarre case, the only conclusion one can arrive at is to take precautions when in the vicinity of a hay bale.
