Truckie found guilty in cycle death case
A 51-year-old truckie has been found guilty of causing the death of a cycle tourist he never saw as he carelessly turned his truck across a cycle lane in Hornby.
Christchurch District Court Judge Gary MacAskill has found that the driver, David Peter Connell, failed to recognise that he had to check and give way to cyclists in a cycle lane going straight ahead to his left.
A 33-year-old Taiwanese cycle tourist, Ming-Chih Hsieh, was killed instantly when Connell moved forward and swung left, crushing him beneath the wheels of the large B-train articulated truck at the corner of Carmen Road and Waterloo Road on September 29, 2014.
Connell had pleaded not guilty to the charge of careless driving causing death at a trial in June, at which Judge MacAskill heard evidence and submissions and then reserved her decision – his verdict – which was delivered in court today.
He said the charge had been proven and remanded the case for sentencing on October 11.
In the meantime he has ordered a report on whether reparation, and emotional harm reparations for the tourist’s family should be ordered.
The Crown will also inquire about whether a restorative justice meeting with the family should take place. Because the family is in Taiwan, the meeting may take place over an online video-link.
The Crown prosecutor, Claire Boshier, had said at the trial that the truck had “significant blind spots” and even with his mirrors, Connell had a limited view of the left-hand side of the road. As the left-turning vehicle, he had to give way to any cyclist proceeding straight ahead in the cycle lane.
Judge MacAskill said Connell was a professional and experienced driver of heavy vehicles.
“He was very familiar with the tractor unit and was aware of is blind spots or blind zones. When the green light showed, he was aware that he did not know whether there was a cyclist in the cycle lane. Yet he took no precaution against that risk – none at all.
“It did not occur to him to wait for a few seconds. He ought to have known that this option was available to him,” said the judge.
A reasonable, careful driver would have responded to the risk by waiting a few seconds to be sure that there was no unseen cyclist in the cycle lane and that the way was clear for him to turn left.
Connell was careless by failing to “perceive, identify, or prioritise the risk to unseen cyclists in the blind spot”.
He had failed to recognise that in order to fulfil his legal obligation to give way to cyclists in the cycle lane, who were going straight ahead, he had to find out whether any cyclists were there.
He had failed to recognise that waiting for a few seconds was the appropriate precaution.
He had relied on looking in mirrors when he knew that they did not cover the blind spots.
When he pulled up at the intersection, Connell had also stopped ahead of the limit line for his lane, which had aggravated the risk of failing to see a cyclist.
“The Transit New Zealand photographs show that, if the defendant had waited for even a couple of seconds, Mr Hsieh would have come into his view,” said Judge MacAskill. “The defendant’s carelessness caused Mr Hsieh’s death.”
The judge said it was not necessary, appropriate, or practical for the court to try to define the appropriate waiting time for all vehicles in these circumstances, because it depended on the circumstances of each case and the extend of a vehicle’s blind spots.
He found that Mr Hsieh was not “contributorily negligent” in failing to take reasonable care to protect himself when there was a risk that the truck driver might not give way to him.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: