Truck driver not at fault in death

A truck driver who ran over the body of a Levin woman was not to blame for her death, according to a coroner’s report released 18 months after the accident.

Amanda Louise Katherine Sale, 25, died as a result of a car accident north of Levin on SH57 near Heights Rd in Shannon on August 2017 where she was thrown from her car on to the road after hitting a bank at speed.

A post-mortem found Sale was more than three times over the legal alcohol limit for driving, had cannabis in her system, was not wearing her glasses, and was speeding at the time of the crash.

A coroner’s inquest was held in Levin in November last year to determine whether any fault lay with the driver of the truck that was following and the decision was reserved.

In his final conclusion Coroner Scott said the truck driver did not cause or contribute to the crash and it was unreasonable to expect that he would see her body on the road and avoid her. Sale was wearing dark clothing and international studies had shown that in 12,000 individual tests not one participant had been able to avoid a darkened pedestrian at night.

She may have been already been dead. Coroner Scott also offered his sincere condolences and sympathy to all members of Sale’s family in his report.

“Sadly, the circumstances leading up to her death do her no credit but her family recognise and accept this and they stand by regardless — as they should. They have suffered greatly and they have my sincere sympathy,” he said.