Driver fatigue cause of fatal truck crash

DEATH SCENE: The scene in Bulls after Dannevirke driver Frederick Thomas Nathan crashed into the town's RSA building in July 2012. Mr Nathan died soon afterwards. PHOTO/ROSS SETFORD

Driver fatigue has been blamed for an early-morning crash which killed a Dannevirke man after the truck and trailer he was driving hit an RSA building in the State Highway 1 junction town of Bulls more than two years ago, a coroner has found.

The man was father-of-four Frederick Thomas Nathan, who was 37 when he missed a right-hand turn and crashed into the Manawatu Returned and Services Association (RSA) building about 3.35am on July 17, 2012.

In a decision released yesterday, coroner Carla na Nagara, said Mr Nathan died of traumatic asphyxiation after the crash caused part of the building to fall and pin him in his seat.

Reports at the time said a steel girder crashed through the top of the cab and witnesses who rushed to Mr Nathan's aid found him gasping "No, No, No."

After a few minutes, he lost consciousness. Unable to breathe normally, his blood oxygen levels fell and he died of traumatic asphyxia, the coroner said.

Blood samples showed Mr Nathan had no drugs or alcohol in his body, and a driver who'd been with Mr Nathan a few hours before the crash told coroner Carla na Nagara there was no evidence that Mr Nathan was tired or unwell.

But a friend of Mr Nathan's said he was "very stressed and tired" two days earlier, adding: "Although he was usually fit and healthy, he seemed like a worn out old man."

The police serious crash unit said a loss of concentration or fatigue caused Mr Nathan's failure to negotiate the corner.

Constable Greg Robinson said several factors could increase the chance of fatigue, causing drivers to have "micro sleeps."

Straight, flat roads and travelling alone were among things that could trigger fatigue.

Other possible micro sleep triggers were having less than six hours' sleep in the 24 hours prior to crashing and "cumulative sleep debt", which was when drivers hadn't had two successive nights of good sleep in the preceding week.

Mr Robinson said micro sleeps were also more likely between midnight to 6am, and between 2pm and 4pm.

The truck's steering wheels were still pointing forward and there was no evidence Mr Nathan tried braking before the impact, suggesting he was unconscious or severely fatigued.

"Mr Nathan's vehicle went straight ahead at a right hand bend, and mounted the footpath, colliding with a lamp post before striking the verandah, which crushed the cab from the left-hand side across to the right," the coroner said.

The truck and trailer unit had no faults.

Mr Nathan had no breaches for driving longer than his permitted hours.

The main cause of the crash was driver fatigue and it was possible Mr Nathan was "fatigued due to an accumulation of tiredness, and stress," the coroner concluded.