A mother was crushed to death by a pile of bricks while walking past a building site when on the school run, a court has heard. 

Mother-of-one Michaela Boor, 29, died from catastrophic brain injuries after a pallet holding more than two tonnes of bricks fell from a crane and dropped on her head on the morning of March 27, 2018. 

Ms Boor had been walking along Burdett Road in Bow, east London, after leaving her son at school when the bricks came crashing down from a building site.

Tragically, the young mother, who was walking with Chelsea Mustafa at the time of the incident, died in hospital two days later.   

Higgins Homes was the principal contractor and designer of the project to build a block of flats where Ms Boor was fatally injured.  

The company - which is charged with corporate manslaughter and a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act - and four construction workers are currently on trial at the Old Bailey in London.

Alexander McInnes, 34, of Islington; Dawood Maan, 61, of Ashford, Kent; Stephen Coulson, 69, of Hemel Hempstead; and Thomas Anstis, 69, of Banstead, are each accused of one count of gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence. 

Alexandra Healy KC, prosecuting, told jurors Ms Boor and Ms Mustafa had dropped their children at a primary school on St Paul's Way shortly before the tragic incident.

She said: 'They had both walked along Burdett Road to go to Lidl and Tesco – it was Michaela's birthday the following day and she wanted to buy some things.

'They were walking back from the shops, along Burdett Road, towards the junction with St Paul's Way. Their route took them past a construction site that was being developed by Higgins Homes plc.

'A pallet of bricks that was being transported by a tower crane towards a loading bay immediately adjacent to the pavement along Burdett Way fell on to them.'

Ms Healy said Ms Mustafa then ran into the road away from the construction site. 

'Although some bricks hit her on the back and her hand, she was able to avoid the bulk of the falling load,' she added.

'Michaela Boor did not make it off the pavement. She was hit by the falling bricks which fractured her skull and she sustained catastrophic brain injuries.'

The court heard Ms Boor received treatment at the scene and was taken to the Royal London Hospital. But despite undergoing surgery, her injuries were 'unsurvivable' and Ms Boor died two days later on March 29.

Until May 2025, no one had been charged with her death while police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated.

But following a review of evidence from the HSE and Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division authorised criminal charges against Higgins Homes and four individuals.

Thomas Anstis was the senior site manager and temporary work co-ordinator employed by Higgins Homes. He was in charge of the building site  and overseeing the work of subcontractors appointed by Higgins Homes and co-ordinating their activities.

He appeared in court alongside Stephen Coulson, who was director of Coulson Lifting Services which was contracted by Higgins Homes. Coulson was the appointed person to plan the lifting operations on the site and was in overall control of them.

Ms Healy said it was not necessary for Coulson to be permanently on site, but that he should have periodically visited the area to see whether any factors had changed which might necessitate a change to the lift plan. On the day of the incident, he was not on the site.

Dawood Maan was the crane supervisor responsible for overseeing and supervising lifting operations on the site. He was a self-employed contractor working for Coulson Lifting Services. 

Alexander McInnes was the crane operator who was self-employed, working for contractor London Tower Cranes.

All four men deny the charges against them. The Old Bailey trial continues.