Man found guilty of careless driving

Ruapehu Bulletin, 10 August 1990, Page 17

Man found guilty of careless driving

The following cases were heard by Judge Toomey in the Ohakune District Court last week. Police Sergeant Russell England of Ohakune appeared for the prosecution. Careless driving causing injury Daniel Makea Apera, 29, machine operator of Auckland appeared to face a defended charge of careless driving causing injury to which he had earlier pleaded not guilty. Defendant was charged that, at about 7pm on 26 January, while driving south on SH4 through Raetihi he collided with a cyclist, 10 year old Stephen Hawera, who suffered multiple injuries including fractures to his head, collar bone, pelvis and femur when thrown from his 10 speed bicycle. The first prosecution witness was Stephen Hawera who has recovered from the accident though he now suffers from attacks of epilepsy and walks with a slight limp. He described to the court how , while on holiday in January, he had been riding his cousin's bicycle from the Raetihi Motor Camp to his grandmother's house on the Parapara Road (SH4) to the south of the town. He had turned left on leaving the motor camp and was riding along the shoulder of the road to the left of and outside the white line marking the edge of the carriageway when, the next thing he remembered, was being in hospital. In reply to defendant's counsel, Mr Paul Brown, Stephen said that he was still some distance from his grandmother's house (which was on the opposite side of the road) and could not remember starting to turn across the road before he was hit. Off seal Thesecond prosecution witness was Craig Wiggins, a mechanic and salvage operator who lived on the Parapara Road south of Raetihi. As he was driving into town that evening he noticed a young cyclist near the motor camp who was riding his bike well off the tarseal "almost on the grass." At no time, while the boy was in view, did he cross the white line at the side of the road, said the witness. Then, as he headed north into town witness saw a white Toyota heading south towards Wanganui "fairly fast". Both vehicles were then in a 50km/h zone. As the oncoming car approached a slight bend in the road ahead witness saw it cross the centre white line and witness took avoiding action by swerving to his left. As the other vehicle passed him witness estimated

that it had been travelling at "between 80 and lOOkm/h". When he looked in his rear-view mirror he saw both the bike and the boy "going up in the air." At first he thought the other car was not going to stop but then it did and returned to the scene of the accident. Witness then went to the Raetihi Police Station to report the accident and to obtain first aid help for the injured boy. In reply to defence counsel, witness said he had been unable to see if the cyclist had turned in front of defendant's car as the vehicle itself had obscured his view. The next prosecution witness was Pamela Condon who lives on the corner of Grey Street and the Parapara Road opposite the Raetihi Motor Camp. She testified that she had seen Stephen Hawera , who was known to her, riding a bicycle southwards on the opposite side of the road as she was walking towards town that evening. She said he was riding on the metal at the edge of the road and gave a wave and a smile as he passed. From nowhere Then "a car came from nowhere... one moment it wasn't there and then it was." She saw the car hit Stephen who was thrown into the air... "it was going so fast I couldn't read the registration plate. I thought it was a hit and run. Parts of the bike were thrown all over the place... one of the wheels went over the hedge into the motor camp." The car eventually stopped "way down the road" and returned to the accident site. The final prosecution witness was Constable Peter Gardner who said that when the first witness, Craig Wiggins, reported the accident he went to the accident site, saw the injured boy and organised an ambulance. He spoke to onlookers who identified the driver who was then questioned. When asked what had happened the driver (defendant) said that the boy had swerved out in front of the car. When asked what speed he had been travelling at defendant replied that he'd "been doing no more that 90km/h." Defendant did not reply when reminded that the accident had occurred in a 50km/h builtup zone. Asked where he had been travelling from and to, defendant said that, because his cousin, who had driven the car from Auckland, was tired, he (defendant) had taken over the driving from Te Kuiti and was heading down to Wanganui. After checking the 50km/h sign was still in place on SH4 at the northern end of the town, Constable Gardner

took a statement from defendant at the Raetihi Police Station. He then examined the defendant's vehicle and found excessive panel damage from the passenger side front bumper to the passenger side rear door which had had its window broken. He then returned to the accident site and found a pile of broken glass on the white line marking the edge of the road. He also found a patch of blood over the same edge-of-road line but 7 metres further on. He told the court that SH4 at that point had a lm-1 l/2m tarseal verge on the outside of the white line marking the edge of the carriageway. "Parts of the bike were widely scattered," he said. Defendant Apera then took the witness stand to give evidence on his own behalf. He told the court that, while he had held a Cook Islands driving licence and had had experience driving a variety of vehicles in the six years before coming to New Zealand ten years ago, he had never obtained a NZ driving licence because he could not afford a vehicle. He admitted to seeing the 50km/h sign but thought it applied to the major intersection ahead (the Seddon Street/Ohakune Road junction). He was unable to describe an open highway lOOkm/h sign. Swerved Defendant claimed that "the kid on the bike had swerved out at right angles" in front of him as he was about to pass. In turn defendant claimed that he had swerved out to avoid a collision. In convicting defendant, Judge Toomey said all the vital elements for an accident were there... excessive speed, an unlicensed and comparatively inexperienced driver who had made no allowance for other road users especially for the fact that, as defendant admitted, the bike rider had been a child. "Evidence of the broken glass being found at the point of impact on the left-hand verge line beside the road clearly indicates defendant's vehicle was too far to the left before the collision occurred," said Judge Toomey. Defendant was fined $1200 on the careless driving causing injury charge and ordered to pay reparation of $200 for the bicycle. Of the fine, $1000 is to be paid to the victims parents for any ongoing medical treatment necessary. Defendant was also disqualified from driving for 10 months. On the charge of driving without a licence he was convicted and fined

$150. Court costs of $65 were imposed on each charge.