Death of a cyclist
‘‘That truck’s not giving that cyclist much room, Mum,’’ Tania Allan’s son said as they drove towards Hastings on April 6 last year.
Only moments later, he yelled out from the backseat: ‘‘Oh, my God, he’s just hit him.’’
The accident, on Brookfields Rd about 6.20pm, killed Hastings GP Helmut Gromer. The 54-yearold was thrown 40 metres, and died at the scene.
A year on from the crash, his widow, Ursula Steinkohl, remains angry that police will not prosecute the driver of the truck, which hit Gromer from behind.
Allan said this week that her sister called an ambulance while her son began stopping traffic. Allan and another motorist went to Gromer’s side.
‘‘All I could do was hold the poor man’s hand ... He passed away while we were talking to him. I’ll never forget it. It was one of the saddest moments of my life.’’
Daylight saving had ended three days earlier, but Allan said the sun was still shining brightly when the accident happened.
‘‘We didn’t have our car lights on, and while it may have been close to the time you needed lights, we weren’t at that stage then.
‘‘Helmut was well over to the left, off the road. He was absolutely cycling where he should have been. I’m adamant about that.’’
On the day of the accident, sunset was at 5.57pm. St John Ambulance received calls about the accident at 6.24pm.
The New Zealand Road Code requires motorists to turn on their vehicle’s headlights from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise the following day, and at any other time when a person or vehicle can’t be seen clearly from 100 metres away.
The truck driver had his lights on. But Steinkohl said the police’s decision not to prosecute the driver suggested her husband was somehow to blame for his own death.
‘‘It wasn’t dark. The thing is sunset was about 6pm. It was a bright, clear, sunny day.’’
She went to the accident site the next evening.
‘‘The police said there was a hedge alongside the road and it was too dark for the truck driver to see Helmut. I can’t believe that. Because the very next day I went to the site at the same time.’’
Gromer was wearing a black jacket, beige trousers and carrying a small backpack. He would ride his bike to and from work at least once a week, and used lights when needed. But it cannot be proved his lights were on his bike that evening, because they have never been found.
‘‘Helmut was a very cautious person. If he had needed lights he would have had them,’’ Steinkohl said.
‘‘But we couldn’t find the lights at the crash scene. They are not here [at home]. The police don’t have them ... But there are so many things the police couldn’t find, I wonder if the lights disappeared at the police station.’’
She wanted her husband’s wedding ring to be with him when he was cremated but again the police could not find it.
After an inspector brought Gromer’s clothes to their home, a friend found the ring within seconds, in a pocket of his jacket.
She also wondered why an investigation carried out to simulate the conditions that led to the crash was carried out on a different road, on a hazy day, in different directions.
She found out in September last year that police did not intend to prosecute the truck driver. She arranged a meeting with police and her lawyer.
The day before the meeting, police discovered no-one had obtained a call record from the truck driver’s cellphone. But Carla na Nagara, the investigating coroner, had: It showed the driver had not been on the phone at the time of the crash.
‘‘That did make me wonder how confident I should be in the investigation,’’ Steinkohl said.
‘‘I want justice for Helmut. I told police that their investigation basically said Helmut was responsible for his own death. I don’t think he is.
‘‘Helmut can’t justify himself, so I need to do it for him.’’
Eastern district road policing Senior Sergeant Dan Foley said the decision not to prosecute the driver was made after a thorough and in-depth investigation and review found there was not sufficient evidence.
He said witnesses gave differing views of the light conditions at the time, and their descriptions were taken into account.
Police had determined Gromer was on or near the fog line, and there was no notable sealed shoulder to ride on. The road has since been widened.
They did not believe Gromer had lights on his bike at the time of the crash. ‘‘Police believe that had Dr Gromer been using lights, it would have increased his visibility to other road users at the time of the crash.’’
Foley apologised to Steinkohl for failing to find her husband’s wedding ring, and said staff investigating the crash had made an oversight by not seeking the truck driver’s cellphone records earlier.
The coroner’s inquiry is continuing.
‘‘Helmut can’t justify himself, so I need to do it for him.’’
Ursula Steinkohl