Safety factors in farm death

A Marlborough farmer driving on steep hills died when his all-terrain vehicle rolled off a ridge, pinning him under it, a coroner has found.

The Ministry of Justice released a report into the death of Jeremy Turnbull in December, who died when his Can-am Defender rolled in Seddon last year.

The 52-year-old Seddon man had been moving stock and was driving down a hill following a ridge line, when he travelled over an invisible drop-off causing his vehicle to roll.

He was not wearing a seatbelt and had permanently removed the side safety nets from the vehicle.

Coroner David Robinson conducted an inquiry, saying there was a ‘‘significant potential’’ for the death to have been prevented, if safety mechanisms were followed.

He listed three main factors which contributed to Turnbull’s death.

The first was the nature of the rugged, steep terrain, with its ‘‘large undulations or knolls’’. Robinson noted there was a safer route a few metres to the right.

The second factor was that the driver’s seat belt had been clipped together so the driver could sit on the belt and be unrestrained.

The vehicle had a maximum speed of 15kmph if the seatbelt was unbuckled, but this safety mechanism had been bypassed.

The third, was that the side safety nets which were intended to prevent an occupant from being thrown from the vehicle had been removed.

On March 27, 2018, Turnbull left home about 8am to shift stock, Campbell said.

At 1pm, his wife Tonia became aware that her husband had not attended a scheduled 12.30pm meeting, but could not find him when she went to look. She enlisted the help of Turnbull’s brother Anthony, who found his all-terrain vehicle lying on its side with Turnbull underneath it.

Emergency services confirmed that he had died.