Truck in fatal crash had several defects

A rubbish truck that plunged into a gully, killing a 19-year-old worker, had so many defects it should not have been on the road, a judge has found.

Rubbish collector Jane Devonshire died in August 2015 when the brakes of the Sterling truck on which she was working failed.

It careened 125 metres down Kauri Rd in Auckland’s Birkenhead, then plummeted into a bush-clad gully. It crushed Devonshire, who was standing on the cab, causing fatal injuries.

Vehicle owner Truck Leasing Limited (TLL) was charged under the Health and Safety Act with failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the truck was maintained so it was safe for its intended use.

The company pleaded not guilty and a hearing was held in the Auckland District Court in July and August. In a reserved judgment made on August 21, and released yesterday, Judge Robert Ronayne found the company guilty.

He said the truck’s brakes had ‘‘lacked the servicing they required for a month and probably several months prior to the crash’’. The brakes were unsafe and the truck ‘‘should not have been on the road at all’’.

A post-crash inspection of the other five Sterling trucks in TLL’s fleet found all had major faults and every one would have been ‘‘pink-stickered’’ off the road. Among other defects, the inspection showed the anti-skid braking system (ABS) on all the trucks was inoperative.

The ABS warning lights had also been removed from the vehicles, Judge Ronayne said.

The driver, whose name was permanently suppressed, testified he knew the truck was in a poor condition. He had asked ‘‘every day’’ when it would be taken off the road.

Just weeks before the fatal crash, it was noted that the truck’s brakes had failed and it was not ‘‘holding’’ on hills. Tyre issues were also reported in the weeks leading up to the crash, as well as repeated alerts regarding a leaking exhaust.

The court heard that for six to eight weeks before the crash, trucks were ‘‘double shifted’’ or working late and were unavailable for scheduled services.

It also heard mechanics from NP Dobbe Maintenance, which was hired to maintain the trucks, had to carry out services in a gravel yard, often at night by torchlight or in a puddle.

‘‘I can readily infer that at times inspections failed to find existing mechanical faults and work was skipped because of work conditions,’’ Judge Ronayne said.

In its defence, TLL submitted it had taken all practicable steps to ensure the truck was roadworthy and it was unaware that poor-quality work was being carried out by mechanics. It said the ABS warning system had been deliberately disabled and the driver acted unlawfully. Without those unlawful acts, the crash would not have happened, the company said.

Judge Ronayne said he accepted that TLL had not known about the ABS warning lights being removed, but said the driver was not at fault.

A lot of the maintenance work done by NP Dobbe was ‘‘very inadequate’’, and it failed to detect a brake fault just four days before the crash, Judge Ronayne said.

However, he found that was reflective of the ‘‘appalling’’ circumstances under which the mechanics were required to work, and pre-existing systemic faults.

‘‘Those systemic faults were known to and largely created by TLL.’’

Judge Ronayne found TLL failed to take five practicable steps to maintain the vehicle to a safe standard – failing to ensure that the brakes on the truck were safe and lawful; the agreed servicing timeframes were met; the servicing regime was adequate; staff at NP Dobbe had access to the necessary facilities to maintain the safety of the truck; and that mechanics were undertaking the repair work to an appropriate standard.

Sentencing will take place next month.