Crash tourist flees court date

$40,000 reparation and charges on file for US driver dragged from car on rail line

An alleged drink-driving American tourist was pulled from the wreckage of his rental car seconds before a train crashed into it.

He was then charged with careless driving but fled the country the same day he was due to appear in court.

The tourist, Kenneth Lee Richardson, 46, was allegedly seen by other motorists speeding just minutes before losing control, crashing into railway lines — hitting a railway station power box worth about $40,000 on the way — on Burwood Rd in Matamata early on Saturday morning.

Police said it appeared that he had failed to take a slight bend.

Richardson was dragged from his car by bystanders and fellow motorists as a freight train came hurtling towards the vehicle, crashing into it and eventually coming to a stop about 50m down the tracks.

The American national, who hail s f r om Scottsdale, in Arizona, was charged with careless driving and was due to appear in the Hamilton District Court yesterday.

But police prosecutor Sergeant Nicola Morrison told Judge Philip Connell in court that he had failed to appear and had fled the country.

The maximum penalty for the charge is a $3000 fine.

She added that when Richardson was breath-tested by police, he returned a breath alcohol level of 888mcg. The legal limit is 250mcg.

Morrison said Richardson contested the level and opted to have a blood sample taken, the results of which usually take several weeks to be determined.

“The defendant l ef t t he country this morning. He is from America and there has been significant reparation involved.

“There is an excess blood alcohol charge outstanding.”

As well as a potential drink driving charge, Morrison told the court that Richardson had a large reparation bill waiting for him as the damaged railway station power box was worth about $40,000.

He could also owe the rental car company funds as insurance was not paid out for accidents involving alcohol, she said. She asked the judge that a warrant be issued for his arrest which would be held on his file for if he ever returned to New Zealand.

Judge Connell issued the warrant but it is understood police will not actively look for Richardson.

Gary Gotlieb, former president of t he Criminal Bar Association, said a careless driving charge was not usually seri- ous enough for police to hold on to someone’s passport so they couldn’t leave the country. The charge also wasn’t serious enough to warrant extradition. “If he had caused a death, it would be a different story.”

Gotlieb said he would not be surprised if the rental car company’s insurance provider filed civil proceedings against Richardson.

Matamata deputy fire chief Warren Feek, who attended the crash, said a front corner section of the car had landed on the lines. “The car was sitting there and [train] has just taken the front section off it, not a lot of it at all.”