Court follows spectacular crash

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 474, 23 February 1993, Page 11

Court follows spectacular crash

The following defended case was heard by Judge Richard Watson in the Ohakune District Court this month (11.2.93). Police Sergeant Bob Evans of Ohakune appeared for the prosecution. Aaron Michael Edward Stevenson, 20, driver of Wanganui had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury to Christopher Jenkins on 30 September last year. Court heard how Stevenson had been driving an empty logging truck-and-trailer unit in Karioi Forest at 4pm when the trailer struck a forestry crew van travelling in the opposite direction. The crew van (a VW Kombi) lost its right rear wheel, rolled and, after striking an electric fence, burst into flames.

Two of the passengers were thrown out and the remainder managed to scramble to safety before the van was completely destroyed by fire. Prosecution witnesses The first prosecution witness was Harry Toho who had been driving anotlrer crew vehicle in the same direction as that of the VW Kombi. He described the road surface as loose metal, dry and dusty. He said that after overtaking the VW Kombi he had seen the truck and trailer unit driven by defendant coming towards him. Despite pulling well over to the left his own vehicle was almost struck by the trailer which appeared to be swaying from side to side. When he noticed the VW Kombi was no longer following him he and his

passengers became concerned. They turned around to see what might have happened. He found the Kombi upside down with two people lying injured on the road. The truck and trailer unit was stopped nearby. The second prosecution witness was Philip Godfrey who said he was a passenger in the vehicle driven by the previous witness. He said he noticed defendant's trailer swing round as it turned into Rock Road from a side road and realised it would probably hit the following vehicle "as it drifted out" on the bend which they had just negotiated. He confirmed the road surface was dry and dusty and was divided into three tracks the middle one of which is usually shared by vehicles travelling in either direction. When a

vehicle travelling in the opposite direction is seen both vehicles move as far to their own respective left-hand side of the road as possible. Kombi driver and passengers The driver of the VW Kombi, Warwick James Chapman, was the next prosecution witness. He said that as hc saw the logging truck approaching with the trailer "sliding out" he had said to his passengers: "I can get past the truck but I don't know about the trailer". He described how the VW Kombi had been struck on its rear right quarter and had rolled after losing its rear wheel. The injured passengers had been thrown out of the side door. Under cross-examination he said that he thought he'd been driving with his headlamps on. He

couldn't be sure if his passengers were wearing seat-belts. A passenger, in the VW Kombi, William Wilson, was the next prosecution witness to give evidence. He said he had been sitting directly behind the driver when he saw the logging truck's trailer swaying as it approached. He ducked as he realised that a collision was inevitable and heard others shouting to "get out" after the Kombi had rolled. Under cross-examina-tion he said that he had been able to see the crew Turn to page 13 Support your Ruapehu Bulletin - the only local ly owned Ruapehu paper

OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

From page 1 1 vehicle driven by the first witness ahead despite the dust being thrown-up by that vehicle as well as the logging truck. The fourth prosecution witness was Christopher Jenkins who had been a passenger in the VW crew vehicle. He testified that he had suffered a fractured elbow, shoulder blade and haematoma of the kidneys when he was knocked unconscious by the collision. He was rushed to Wanganui Base Hospital and has been unable to return to work in the forest since the accident because of his injuries. The police evidence The final prosecution witness was Ohakune community police constable Brian Wilson. He said when he arrived at the scene all emergency services were already on the scene and caring for the two injured persons. He examined the scene and noted that the VW Kombi had been struck on a straight section of road about 75m before a dip and corner. He confirmed that the road surface was divided into three tracks of loose metal with the middle track usually being shared by vehicles travelling in either direction. He believed that the fire had been caused by the Kombi coming into contact with the electric fence and confirmed that it had been burnt-out. For this reason he was unable to say, under cross-exam-ination, if seat-belts had been fitted. The defence case The defendant, Aaron Stevenson, then took the witness stand. He said he had been driving trucks for threeyears and had driven along Rock Road, Karioi Forest for McCarthy's Transport for "eight I

months solid" making the round trip between the forest and the mill (about 5km) about 10 times a day. On 30 September last year he had seen a cloud of dust above the trees so knew another vehicle was approaching. This turned out to be the first vehicle driven by Harry Toho. He had not seen the second vehicle which was obscured by the dust cloud until it was about 10m away. He immediately took evasive action by moving to the left. He said this second vehicle, the VW Kombi, did not have its lights on and its right-hand wheels were still in the middle track when the collision occurred. Under cross-examina-tion he said that he had not been expecting another vehicle so close behind the first because of the amount of dust being thrown up by the leading vehicle. Despite claiming that he had not had an accident in 100,000kms of driving (trucks) he admitted, under cross-examina-tion, that he had had a private vehicle accident only the day before. The second defence witness was John Longey who said that he was a former employee of the VW Kombi owner-opera-tor and often drove the vehicle. He couldn't recollect if the Kombi had seat-belts fitted but remembered that there was a problem with the sidedoor opening. He said that if a truck passed another vehicle it would take about 30-sec-onds for the dust to clear. The third defence witness was another driver for McCarthy's Transport, Neii Collier. He said that it would often be 100-metres before dust thrown up by a passing truck would settle and clear and, for that reason, headlights should be on at all times within the forest. Judge sums up In his summing-up

Judge Watson said that while the fitting or absence of seat-belts may have been a factor in the injury related accident it would be a matter of degree of injury rather than whether injury would have been avoided altogether had passengers been wearing them. "Nor was (excessive) speed a factor ... a driver should have full control of his vehicle (and that includes both truck and trailer in this case) at all times whether he is travelling at 60 k/ph or 10 k/ph," he said. Concern had been expressed by the passengers in the first crew vehicle which caused them to turn round to investigate and the occupants of the VW Kombi had described the trailer as "weaving" from side to side. "Clearly the truck and trailer unit was not under defendant's full control" he said, "and defendant was therefore not driving in a careful and prudent manner". Stevenson was convicted and fined $400, court costs $95 and disqualified for 6 months. Counsel: John Unsworth of Wanganui.