Sister’s tears for man crushed to death on worksite

The sister of a man crushed to death on a regional Queensland worksite has paid tribute to her beloved brother as a “natural sportsman” with a “fierce and unyielding love” at a coronial inquest.

Family members of Billy-Joh Watts sobbed and held each other as his sister Danette read a touching statement to Brisbane Coroners Court on Thursday.

Mr Watts, 36, died at a worksite in Chinchilla, west of Brisbane, while unloading heavy pipes from a truck in May 2017.

After days of harrowing evidence, Danette spoke of her beloved brother acting as the “cool, fun-loving uncle” who was a positive mentor for his many godchildren.

“BJ was many things to many people,” she said.

Proceedings are due to resume on November 14 due to technical issues with witnesses appearing over audiovisual link.

Members of Mr Watts’ family – including his mother, father and niece – have attended proceedings all week.

Danette Watts paid tribute to her brother as a lover of sport and an easygoing child who was “mellow from the moment he was born”.

“He was the kind of man who would stand beside you, no matter how hard it rained … a light to pull yourself out of the darkness.

“His love was fierce and unyielding.”

She said the loss of Mr Watts had created “a heaviness that would not ease” and his absence was felt dearly by his family.

“We miss his presence, his affection, his voice, his smell and his protection,” Danette said.

“His physical life came to an end, but our love for him did not.”

On Wednesday, co-workers recounted the harrowing moment they discovered Mr Watts had been crushed by the fallen pipe.

Rodney Redgen, who was operating the front-end loader used to unload the pipes, told the court he got the “thumbs up” from Mr Watts to start lifting the materials.

One began rolling forward and tumbled from the trailer.

Brian Mace, another co-worker, recalled finding “no vital signs” and dialling triple-0 for help.

The court was told Mr Watts had been working long hours and at times came in “very tired”, working up to 20 days in a row.

A Workplace Health and Safety investigation found the company, Neil Mansell Transport, had failed to “provide and maintain a work environment without risks to health and safety” but there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges to be laid.

The inquest into Mr Watts’ death is examining the fatigue and mental health management by Neil Mansell Group and whether appropriate safety measures were in place for unloading the steel pipes.