Police charge woman after fatal ATV crash

Nelson police have charged a 28-year-old Uruguayan woman following a fatal all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash on a rural property south of Nelson last month.

French national Cindy Helene Janinie Reslinger, 29, died when the side-by-side vehicle rolled on a farm on Eighty-eight Valley Rd, near Wakefield, on June 28. Reslinger was a passenger in the vehicle and died at the scene.

The 28-year-old has been charged with careless operation of a vehicle, and was due to appear in the Nelson District Court today.

After the crash, the woman was flown to Nelson Hospital by the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter as a precaution.

Detective Constable Bronwyn Inglis of Nelson police said drivers of all motor vehicles had a legal responsibility to operate them in a safe manner.

WorkSafe said it could not comment on an open investigation, and the process could take up to a year.

Since January 2006, 61 people have died in workplace quad bike accidents, WorkSafe statistics show. A further 563 serious injuries have been reported since January 2009.

Agriculture is New Zealand’s most dangerous industry and quad bikes are a significant contributor to workplace deaths, WorkSafe data shows.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said it had written to Workplace Safety Minister Iain LeesGalloway urging him to mandate changes that would make wearing a helmet compulsory when using an ATV or side-by-side vehicle and ban the use of full-size ATVs by children under age 16.