Fatal crushing: Former driver confirms 'faults' with truck prior to 'terrible event'

The scene where a man was crushed between a shipping container and a truck on Totara St, Mount Maunganui. Photo / NZME

The man who was last to operate a swing-loader truck and trailer unit before it was given to another driver who died when he was crushed between the vehicle and a container has told a court he also experienced "faults" with the machine.

Former truck driver Stephen Ward appeared in Tauranga District Court today via an audiovisual link as part of the fifth day of a coronial inquest into the death of the worker.

The worker, who has name suppression, was killed on March 14, 2016, while operating a swing-loader truck and trailer at a Totara St site owned by the Port of Tauranga. The yard is leased to the man's employer, Coda Operations Limited Partnership (Coda) from which Priority Logistics operates.

The death prompted a WorkSafe investigation and criminal court case, which resulted in Coda being fined $52,500 and ordered to pay $110,000 compensation to the man's whānau.

Plant manufacturer and supplier Hammar New Zealand Limited was also fined $25,600.

Ward told the court he worked from 2001 to 2017 at Priority Logistics as a driver and for much of that time, operated the vehicle that was later involved in the worker's death.

In 2015, Ward had surgery and took six months off work for recovery, at which time the worker was hired and paired with Ward's primary vehicle.

Ward said he returned to work in an official capacity on March 14, 2016, the day of the tragedy. He said he did not know about the incident until a work colleague told him what happened.

Ward described the death as a "terrible event".

Counsel for Worksafe Ben Finn asked Ward whether he experienced any ongoing faults with the truck's proximity sensors during his time with it.

Such sensors help a driver align the vehicle correctly when operating container lifts.

Ward said he did, and these issues had already been noted in the court case through invoices for work carried out on them.

Earlier this week, it was revealed through Coda's internal investigation these sensors had issues such as having wiring done in "reverse".

Under questioning from Genevieve Haszard, counsel for the worker's whānau, Ward said it was possible to override the truck's sensor system to carry out "lifts" manually.

However, these were pretty rare and took about 10 to 15 minutes to carry out. The manual lifts took time because the operator would need to walk up and down the side of the truck to manage the lifting modules alternately, the court heard.

Ward said he had done manual lifts once or twice.

Under questioning from counsel Greg Stringer, representing Hammar, Ward confirmed anyone carrying out a manual lift would not have been in the position the worker was at the time of his death, which was on the other side of the truck.

"You are on the passenger side of the truck, way out of the way of the looming container and you are quite safe," Ward said.

Ward told the court that as a former driver, he was happy with Coda's health and safety procedures that were in place.

"A big part of the job was using common sense. If you follow procedures and don't stand too close to machinery, there isn't much that can happen to you. An experienced driver should not stand in a high-risk area," he said.

The inquest continues.