Borrowdale said there were other mistakes made and lessons to learn: Motorists should turn their wheels towards the kerb when parking and put their vehicle in reverse gear if it had a manual transmission and was sloped towards a hill.
“I offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr Bilo,” she said.
‘Not my Joji’ - widow
Luisa Bilo said when the police showed up and told her what had happened, she could not accept the truth.
“Not my Joji, anybody but my Joji... He would never leave me and the kids,” she said.
Their children were just 4 and 2 at the time of his death, and have already missed out on many memories with their father, she said.
She described herself as “one broken heart trying to shield and protect two little broken hearts”.
“I waved Joji goodbye that night just for him to be returned to us in a coffin,” Bilo said.
“Joji was a man like no other... He loved me unconditionally. I am who I am because of him.”
Infrastructure and roading company Fulton Hogan went before the courts for the tragic incident on September 12, 2022, pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety Act 2015.
Fulton Hogan was the lead contractor on the work site in Wellington at the time.
Managing director Cos Bruyn told the court as soon as they became aware of a fault with the brake system, they made sure to have it fixed in all the vehicles in their fleet, but did not go so far as to insist their sub-contractors had the system fixed.
In doing so, they “effectively failed Joji”, he said.
Bruyn apologised to Joji Bilo’s family for the “tragic accident”.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
