Goldsmith’s daughter died after quad bike flip, inquest hears

Millionaire financier Ben Goldsmith’s daughter died after she became trapped under her quad bike when it flipped over on the family farm in Somerset, an inquest was told.

Iris Goldsmith, 15, had been riding a Polaris Ranger all-terrain vehicle (ATV) around the family farm in North Brewham on 8 July 2019 when the fatal accident happened.

Taunton Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday (10 November) that Iris was “zig-zagging” across a field trying to impress a friend when she was ejected from the cab.

See also: Farm health and safety: Farm and work vehicles

The vehicle landed on top of her and pinned her to the ground under the metal roof by her neck. A 15-year-old friend who was riding in the vehicle as a passenger suffered minor injuries.

Iris was heard saying to her friend “Please help me”, but the weight of the vehicle was too heavy for her to free her.

Her teenage friend raised the alarm and an air ambulance was sent to the farm. But despite desperate efforts to save her, Iris was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neither Iris nor her friend, who cannot be named, were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.

‘Force of nature’

In a statement read to the court, Mr Goldsmith’s said he had been playing cricket in Surrey during the school holiday at the time of the accident. He believed his daughter was a “force of nature” and “nobody could have stopped her from doing what she wanted to do”.

He said: “What happened to my daughter was an amalgamation of bad luck. The Mule was not being used by anyone on that Monday, which was unusual and bad luck.

“The ground was very hard after a two-month dry spell, which may have made the wheels skid, which was bad luck.”

Police collision investigators from Avon and Somerset Police who examined the vehicle found that it had some defects, including low front brake pads, under-inflated tyres and worn lower wishbone bushes.

A combination of a sharp right turn, vehicle faults and safety equipment were responsible for the teen’s death, police collision investigator PC Sharon Little told the court.

No criminal charges were brought into Iris’ death and the Health and Safety Executive dropped its investigation after it ruled that the accident happened during leisure time.

Tony Williams, senior coroner for Somerset, recorded a verdict of accidental death. “Iris was simply having fun with her friend when this tragic incident occurred,” Mr Williams said.

The 15-year-old was the eldest of three children from the marriage of Mr Goldsmith and his former wife, Kate Rothschild.

Iris was the niece of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith and her aunt is film producer Jemima Khan, the former wife of retired cricketer and current Pakistan prime minister, Imran Khan.

Mr Goldsmith is an adviser to Defra secretary Michael Gove and was appointed as a non-executive director at the department in March 2018.