Loose fitting on ute has devastating consequences
‘Better off dead’
Eight months ago Peter Rogers walked away from a crash that could have taken his life.
But the actions of those he believes responsible have left the father-of-three emotionally scarred and on the verge of bankruptcy.
For the past five years, the 39-year-old had built a business felling trees to become one of the leading firewood suppliers in the Auckland region.
On the morning of April 18, he was driving to secure his biggest job to date – a contract to clear 20 hectares near Miranda containing at least 5000 cubic metres of tea tree. A buyer was prepared to purchase the wood at $125 per cubic metre, making the contract worth more than $500,000 over five years.
Rogers was in a rush, but the road was foggy, so he said he drove slowly.
Without warning, the drive shaft underneath the ute detached – along with the rear axle, differential and wheels – and speared into the tarmac polevaulting the vehicle into the air.
‘‘Time slowed down ... I could see these fence posts coming toward me – I thought, oh no, I could be in trouble here,’’ he said.
Despite the odds, Rogers received only minor injuries to his arm and neck. ‘‘The fire department and paramedics... they couldn’t believe I walked away.’’
A police report concluded the cause of the crash was mechanical failure. The vehicle, an Isuzu D-Max, was new, purchased only four days earlier. However, heavy modifications had also been added including a winch, air compressor and strengthened suspension. After the crash, LVV certifier Mark Stokes inspected the wreck using photographs provided to him by Turners Auctions. He said there was no doubt in his mind that, during the modification work, bolts securing the leaf springs to the rear axle and differential housing had not been properly tightened.
‘‘After 47 years in the trade I’ve never seen that happen before and the only way it could happen . . . is to have not been bolted in. It was so bloody obvious.’’
One week after the accident Rogers and another staff member met Auto Transform – the company contracted to do the modification work – to discuss compensation.
Rogers said the response from general manager Daniel Stanners left him speechless.
‘‘He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘we’re not going to help you out’. They said it was God’s will . . . you’re lucky to be alive.’’
Auto Transform instead loaned Rogers an unmodified vehicle – but he would not receive a cent in compensation.
Three months later, on June 21, he had another surprise in the form of a call from police. Auto Transform had reported the loan vehicle stolen.
‘‘This was the first thing I knew about it, they didn’t call me to say they wanted it returned, nothing. How can they treat us like this?’’
Over the next couple of months, Rogers lost almost everything as the incident left him with medical and psychological issues including post-traumatic stress disorder.
‘‘I’ve had ongoing migraines nearly on a daily basis to the point where I’ve been at [Accident and Emergency] and put on a drip . . . the pain is so bad – I just can’t describe it.’’
With Rogers unfit to work more than two hours a day, the business took a downward spiral. The contract in Miranda was given to the competition, eight staff members were let go and this month a solicitor estimated the business’ losses at $1.2 million.
Rogers’ wife Sue said the stress of losing everything they had built had taken a severe toll. ‘‘He’s told me, ‘you would have all been better off if I had been killed in that accident’.’’
Under ACC Rogers receives 80 per cent of his wage while he recovers. But as the business owner, he was only paying himself the minimum wage.
‘‘We can’t even pay the mortgage . . . we had to borrow money off our friends,’’ Sue said.
They’re pursuing legal action, Sue said, but have been told the process could stretch well into next year. ‘‘We won’t survive that . . . they’ve got us where they want us.’’
Stanners declined to comment but wrote in an email: ‘‘I also Caution [sic] you against making any defamatory remarks against Auto Transform Ltd or using the Auto Transform name in anything that is made public in any form without approval!’’
Matthew Newman, chief executive of Southern Automotive, where Rogers bought the truck, said the company could not comment in detail. ‘‘But obviously on a human level we feel for Peter and what he’s been through.’’