A mother who moved to the UK for a ‘better future’ died after she was dragged under the wheels of a bus when it left the stop early.

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, 34, banged on the door to be let in but fell under the bus in Nottingham city centre on the morning of 22 October last year – the day she was due to start a new job at Boots.

She was running late because she had initially been given the wrong start date but was ‘determined to get to work’, an inquest heard, and ran to catch the bus on George Street which was due to leave at 6am but left 45 seconds early.

The inquest heard this was acceptable within Nottingham City Transport’s policies, which allow buses to leave stops up to a minute early. The bus driver said he had not seen her and stopped when he heard a sudden loud bang. 

A collision investigator told the hearing it was likely Mrs Cheraghmakani had been caught by the tyre next to the door as the bus turned left at a junction. She suffered multiple serious injuries and died at the scene. 

In a statement read to the court on behalf of her husband Ramin Dehbandi, he told how in Iran, where the couple are originally from, it is common practice for the bus to stop if you wave your hands at it.

Police investigated but decided it was not a criminal matter.

Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley concluded Mrs Cheraghmakani died as a result of a road traffic collision which was ‘unavoidable’ due to the lighting conditions at that time of the morning, and the dark clothing she was wearing, meaning the driver would not have seen her.

After the inquest, Mr Dehbandi said he intended to continue to fight for justice for his wife, who he described as a ‘wonderful wife and mother’.

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, 34, died after being dragged under a bus as she ran to get to work

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, with husband Ramin Dehbandi and daughter Liana

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, with husband Ramin Dehbandi and daughter Liana

Helaleh Cheraghmakani was described as a wonderful wife and mother

Helaleh Cheraghmakani was described as a wonderful wife and mother 

He said : ‘My heart and my life were broken the moment we lost Helaleh and our world has been destroyed. She was a wonderful wife and mother and I loved her with all my heart. 

‘To make the incredibly painful situation even worse our daughter Liana blames me for her mummy not being there, that I am stopping her from coming back to her and calls me ‘daddy monster’.

‘She asked me the other day if I would let mummy pick her up one day from nursery and I could not sleep from the sorrow. The pain is too much for me to bear, I feel like my life is over, but I must remain strong for Liana to give her the life Helaleh wanted for her.’

Daniel Denton, a specialist personal injury partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents Mr Dehbandi, said: ‘This is such an unimaginably tragic case that has devastated the lives of my client and his daughter. 

‘Their loving wife and mother were snatched away from them and we need answers as to how this could have been allowed to happen. We will continue our fight for answers and for justice for Helaleh through the civil courts.’

The inquest into her death – held at Nottingham Coroners’ Court on Monday – heard Mrs Cheraghmakani, who was known as Hailey, her husband and daughter moved to the UK in September 2023 for a ‘better future’ and Mrs Cheraghmakani had accepted a job at Boots at the company’s headquarters in Beeston days prior to the collision.

She found out the evening before the crash that she was due to start on October 22 instead of October 24, which was the date previously communicated to her.

The next day, Mr Dehbandi then spotted an email from Boots clarifying her start date was 6am on October 22. Before she left, she went into her daughter’s room and told her she was going to be back for lunch.

Emergency services were called to the scene but Mrs Cheraghmakani could not be saved

Emergency services were called to the scene but Mrs Cheraghmakani could not be saved 

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, known as Hailey, suffered multiple injuries when she was struck by a bus on October 22 last year

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, known as Hailey, suffered multiple injuries when she was struck by a bus on October 22 last year

Although she knew she was late, she was ‘determined to get to work’, the inquest heard and she ran to catch the bus on George Street, which was expected to depart at 6am, with the service running every 15 minutes at that time of day.

The court heard bus driver, Anthony Watson, left the stop 45 seconds early, with the company’s policy stating that buses can leave up to a minute early and up to five minutes late. In a statement read to the court on behalf of Mr Watson, he told how he suddenly heard a bang on the nearside of the bus.

He said: ‘I don’t know what the bang was. It was just a noise on the side of the bus. I don’t know where it came from. I didn’t see anything. It startled me.’

The inquest heard she likely got clipped by the nearside wheel of the bus and then dragged under it by the back wheel.

The inquest was told that Mr Watson was driving at between eight and 10mph as he was making the turn, but that he was not indicating left. This did not contribute to the collision, however, coroner Nathanael Hartley said.

In a statement, Mr Watson said: ‘As I looked in my mirror, I saw the nearside wheels go over a person’s torso. I don’t know where she came from. As soon as I saw the wheels over her, I applied the brakes, I stopped, got off the bus and ran towards the pedestrian. I didn’t get too close to her.

‘I realised that I needed to get help. I then ran straight back to the bus as I didn’t know what was happening. I was in complete shock. There was nothing that I could have done as I hadn’t seen her prior to the collision.

‘This was a tragic accident which was out of my control. I couldn’t have done anything differently. I didn’t see her until the point of collision. I didn’t know that she was running for my bus. Quite often we get members of the public banging on the windows asking us to stop the bus. We can’t do it. It’s against the law.’

The hearing was told that Mr Watson had been a bus driver for 14 years and had driven on the 49 route for 11 prior to the collision. Coroner Hartley added that the driver’s reaction Mrs Cheraghmakani’s ‘sudden’ presence at the side of the bus was ‘quick and certainly what the police considered to be reasonable’.

Mrs Cheraghmakani would also ‘not have been obvious’ to Mr Watson. In his statement, the driver said: ‘I think about the collision daily. I feel for the deceased lady and her family. There isn’t an hour that goes by where I don’t think about her. What upsets me the most is that she’s left a child behind. The deceased is the same age as one of my daughters. It upsets me that she’ll never see her child again. I’d like to offer my condolences to her family.’

An Nottingham City Transport spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts remain with everyone involved and affected, including our driver who we continue to support following the collision. We send our deepest sympathies to Helaleh’s family and friends.’

A GoFundMe page was previously launched to support Mrs Cheraghmakani’s husband and young daughter, raising £14,026.

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