Guilty plea after farm crash death
A man who caused the death of his close childhood friend in a crash was bereft as he held the dying woman’s hand in a rain-sodden Taranaki paddock while darkness fell.
Tom Munro Nicholls admitted dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing injury after the December 2021 crash that killed Julia Rose Florence, 21, and left an 18-year-old woman needing surgery.
The 22-year-old was found to have been drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a 4x4 all-terrain vehicle and trying to perform a doughnut in the paddock of a farm property in Cardiff, central Taranaki.
It also appears he failed to heed a previous warning from his father who, according to the summary of facts, said to police not long after the fatal crash: ‘‘I’ve told him that this s... can end badly.’’
The summary, supplied to Stuff after Tuesday’s hearing in the Hāwera District Court, said Nicholls worked with the victims on a shearing gang. About 2pm on December 14, work finished up early due to heavy rain, and plans were made to meet up at a workmate’s house for drinks.
On the way there, Nicholls bought a 24-box of beer and some vodka-based milkshakes, and he was later seen drinking both.
About 8.30pm, the group discussed going on a drive around the farm, despite the wet weather.
Nicholls got into the driver’s seat of the 4x4 and was joined by Florence, who hailed from the Bay of Plenty, and the other victim.
Two other men got on to another quad bike and drove off to show the defendant and his passengers the farm.
Just before the crash, Nicholls made a sharp left turn that caused the vehicle to go off balance and roll. Florence was crushed underneath it, and the teen was also trapped.
After freeing the two women, emergency services were called and CPR was begun on Florence, but she died.
‘‘The defendant sat with her, holding her hand. He was very upset,’’ the summary of facts said.
The other victim was taken to hospital and needed surgery after suffering a broken arm, along with bruising and whiplash.
When spoken to at the scene, police noticed Nicholls smelt of alcohol and slurred his speech.
When asked to take an alcohol breath test, Nicholls refused, but he later told police he did this as the officer was ‘‘using a form for driving on the road’’, which he had not been doing.
Soon after the crash, the defendant’s parents arrived and were told what had happened.
A police serious crash unit scene examination found evidence of circular tracks on the paddock left by the defendant ‘‘trying to do donuts [sic]’’.
During an attempt to perform another one, the vehicle rolled, causing the fatal crash.
In a statement to the police, Nicholls said he had drunk four to six beers and had decided to drive as he was the most experienced.
He told police he had not been driving fast and the vehicle had ‘‘just flipped over’’ as he had tried to turn it.
He said he had tried to do a skid but couldn’t, so had watched on while others had done them in the paddock. However, this contradicted the police findings, which said there was no evidence the other quad bike had been used to perform skids.
Nicholls, who is seeking a discharge without conviction, is due back in the Hāwera District Court on November 28.