Galloway woman's quad bike death unpreventable

Samantha Bunting was a popular young farm worker at Gerranton Farm in Kirkcudbrightshire

Nothing could have prevented the death of a "much-loved" young female farmer in a tragic quad bike accident, a Sheriff has ruled.

Samantha Bunting was discovered face-down in a field at a farm in south-west Scotland during September 2021.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) in February heard the 21-year-old had been sent by her employer to retrieve a cow, which had not returned the night before.

Sheriff Colm Dempsey concluded there were no precautions which could have been taken to avoid her death in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Quad bike 'struck a ridge'

The Sheriff said police had concluded Miss Bunting’s vehicle had struck a small ridge at around 20mph.

He said: "Miss Bunting lost control of the quad bike as a result of its front wheels having struck a small but visible ridge in the ground.

"The quad bike launched into the air, and rotated ninety degrees. Miss Bunting became separated from the quad bike and came to rest on the ground."

He added the vehicle "continued to travel" and landed "partly on top of Miss Bunting’s upper torso”.

Miss Bunting, who grew up on a farm near Kirkbean, worked as self-employed agricultural contractor at Gerranton Farm near Castle Douglas.

On the morning of 22 September 2021, she had been helping her boss, Ian Heuchan, load a trailer of calves to send to market in Carlisle.

Mr Heuchan asked her to find a cow which had strayed the night before.

When Miss Bunting failed to reply to a number of calls to her mobile phone, housemate and colleague Emma Farren set out to find her.

She discovered her friend lying beneath the upturned quad bike and called the emergency services.

An ambulance attended at about 11am, and she was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

Sheriff Dempsey ruled there were no defects at work that contributed to her death.

"Samantha Bunting was a much-loved daughter, sister, friend and colleague.

“I express my condolences to the family and friends,” he said.

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