A man accused of causing death by careless driving at a Hampshire car wash has denied the allegation.
Patryk Galka has appeared in court following a fatal incident involving one of his colleagues at Car Wash Bay in Bishopstoke Road, Eastleigh.
Galka is alleged to have been moving a customer's car when the accident happened on January 21 2024.
The incident took place on the forecourt of Car Wash Bay, where Galka and the man who died, Lukasz Wojenkowski, both worked, Southampton Magistrates' Court was told.
David Finney, prosecuting, said Mr Wojenkowski, 35, suffered "catastrophic" injuries, including a fractured skull.
Galka, 24, of Commercial Road in Southampton, entered a not guilty plea during the eight-minute hearing.
Mr Finney and Steve Tricker, representing the defendant, agreed that the matter was not suitable for summary trial.
The three magistrates declined jurisdiction of the case and Galka was remanded on conditional bail to appear at Southampton Crown Court on January 8, 2025.
Mr Wojenkowski, who lived in Southampton, died in hospital two days after the accident.
In an emotional statement issued shortly after he passed away, his family said: "Lukasz was a special person. Always smiling, joyful and full of life. What happened shocked all his family and friends.
“Unfortunately, nothing and no one will give us back our son, brother, and uncle.”
As reported in the Daily Echo at the time, emergency services rushed to the scene just before 12.15pm on the day of the accident.
The air ambulance was also called, but in the end Mr Wojenkowski was blue-lighted to hospital by road.
The car wash was cordoned off as police launched an investigation. Officers could be seen looking inside a white Range Rover and taking photographs of the car before it was towed away.
The officer in charge of the case, Detective Inspector Elizabeth Brunt, urged anyone with dash cam, mobile phone or CCTV footage of the incident to come forward.
An inquest into Mr Wojenkowski's death was opened at Winchester Coroner's Court.
Coroner Rachel Spearing gave a preliminary cause of death as a head injury caused by a road traffic collision.
The hearing was adjourned, with the full inquest due to take place on February 3 next year.
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