$20,000 for fatal truck crash
A truckie who ploughed off the road and over a man walking his dog – killing them both instantly – has been sentenced to 200 hours of community work.
Ian Douglas Minnear, 55, of Glenview must also undertake nine months of supervision and was disqualified from driving for 10 months, when he appeared before community magistrate Ngaire Mascelle in the Hamilton District Court on Tuesday on a charge of careless driving causing death.
Mascelle ordered he must also pay $20,000 in emotional harm reparation to the family of his victim David Brian Besley – money which will come straight from the insurance funds of Minnear’s employer’s, TJ Contracting.
Minnear was behind the wheel of the unladen truck and trailer, used for carting aggregate, heading north when he lost control rounding a moderate right hand bend.
He had been making his third trip from the Waikato Expressway site to a nearby quarry that day when he veered off the road and into a ditch.
As he attempted to retain control of the vehicle, he ploughed over Besley, 69, and his dog Lexie, who were walking on the footpath beside the road, killing them both before heading a further 50 metres into a paddock.
Minnear, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, told the police he believed he had been doing 55 to 60kmh at the time he lost control. Tuesday’s sentencing was a reserved decision, the result of a process that began before Mascelle on March 22.
Mascelle said the crux of Minnear’s wrongdoing was that he attempted to take the bend at too great a speed. He even crossed into the opposite lane in a bid to negotiate the bend without slowing down – a manoeuvre that ended disastrously.
Minnear, who had been a heavy transport driver since he was 22, was aghast at what had happened and looking to find an explanation believed new tyres that had been fitted to the vehicle that day were to blame. A serious crash report found no mechanical fault with the truck, including the tyres.
‘‘This was all down to you and the driving decisions you made on the day,’’ Mascelle said.
The police had assessed the degree of carelessness as moderate, with the manner of his driving ‘‘leaning towards selfish disregard of others’’.
Prior to his sentencing, Minnear had attended a restorative justice sentencing with members of his victim’s family.
‘‘This was not particularly successful.’’
The family did not believe Minnear exhibited true remorse, and an apology had to be coaxed from him by his own family members.
‘‘I have done far too many of these sentencings,’’ Mascelle said, adding she had only encountered one defendant who had a complete lack of remorse.
‘‘I don’t get that vibe from you. Your remorse was expressed in your manner.’’
At the first part of the sentencing, Minnear’s lawyer Mark Sturm said his client accepted responsibility for the wrong-doing at the first available opportunity.
‘‘He did not want to extend the ordeal of the victims any further,’’ Sturm said.
Minnear had contacted emergency services and had stayed at the scene.
‘‘He hasn’t had anything like this happen before as an experienced driver. He’s made a mistake and his victims have to unfortunately deal with his mistake.
‘‘[It] does weight heavily on the defendant. He is very sorry.’’
Members of Besley’s family declined to comment following the sentencing.