Man found dead on M67 hard shoulder after falling from bridge

A pensioner died from ‘multiple injuries’ after falling from a Tameside motorway bridge, an inquest has ruled.

Paul Carpenter, of Ashton, died on February 1 this year. He was discovered by motorists on the hard shoulder between junctions 3 and 4 of the M67.

Today, an inquest into the 68-year-old's death in Stockport has found that the fall was the primary cause of death but stopped short of concluding he died by suicide. Senior Coroner Alison Mutch instead recorded a narrative conclusion.

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“He died from multiple injuries sustained when falling from a bridge on the M67,” Ms Mutch’s narrative conclusion said. In her summing up of the case, she added: “It is clear that Mr Carpenter was found on the hard shoulder of the M67 in Tameside.

“It is clear from the evidence we have heard that the police were able to identify Paul Carpenter, a self-employed contractor retired. He left a family behind.

“Witness has seen Mr Carpenter’s body lying on the hard shoulder of the M67 and called it in to the police. Police have attended and there’s no suggestion he was struck by a vehicle.”

A post-mortem examination of Mr Carpenter found that he had multiple injuries, consistent with falling from a height. The primary cause of death, Ms Mutch said, was therefore ‘multiple injuries’.

However, the coroner said she was not completely satisfied that Mr Carpenter’s death was suicide. His GP, Dr Nabeel Arshad from Brooke GP Surgery in Hyde, confirmed in a statement to the court that Mr Carpenter had not made a complaint about his mental health to doctors before his passing.

She said: “I am satisfied that he did the act that led to his death. It is very