Man died while on trike test drive

A man killed when the 1200cc trike he was test-riding crashed in Napier last year had already had another minor crash in his first few hundred metres on the machine, according to a coroner's report.

Auckland man Edward Charles McKenna was 49 when the crash happened in Tait Drive, Greenmeadows, on Guy Fawkes Day.

Regional coroner Chris Devonport said he believed driver error caused the crash, probably as a result of Mr McKenna's lack of experience with riding trike motorcycles.

He said it was possible the impact of diabetes and cerebral palsy also contributed, the latter affecting his mobility and requiring him to walk with the aid of a stick.

Mr Devonport was told Mr McKenna and his son arrived in Napier from Auckland, interested in buying the 1987 Yamaha Vmax trike, and went to the Tait Drive address of bike owner Kevin Anderson about 3.30pm on November 5.

Friend and experienced rider Dave Nicholson and Mr Anderson familiarised him with the machine before the test drive.

Travelling down the driveway, Mr McKenna drove the machine into a fence at low speed. It was not damaged and Mr Anderson then drove it on to the road and Mr McKenna's test-ride resumed.

Moments later and less than 400m away, the machine veered to the left, mounted a kerb and a wheel clipped a concrete fence, causing the trike to rotate and roll.

It hit a power box and went through a smaller boundary fence, throwing Mr McKenna on to a resident's front lawn.

A passerby told investigators he appeared to have a severe head injury and he died soon afterwards.

Mr Anderson said the incident in the driveway was only a "low-speed nudge" and he attributed it to a moment's distraction.

He said he watched the trike driven in a straight line up the street and out of sight. He was waiting for the rider to return when they saw an ambulance go past. Police said examination of the trike showed no mechanical faults.