Fatalities drive dangers of fatigue starkly into focus

A coroner is calling attention to the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel, after finding fatigue caused the deaths of two young men in separate car accidents near Taupo.

Mark James Caie, 19, of Tauranga, died after a crash in July last year.

On his way back to the Bay of Plenty, Mr Caie was sleeping in the back seat with his head against the window. The driver, Bradley Hodgson, admitted he was not concentrating for a moment and clipped the left curb on SH1 at Waitahanui on the eastern side of Lake Taupo.

He tried to correct the vehicle but swerved too far - it rolled across the road and landed on a grass verge. Mr Caie was taken to hospital with head injuries, but died soon afterwards.

Hodgson was charged with careless driving causing death, and has been through the restorative justice process.

Taupo Coroner Wallace Bain said the court drew attention to the dangers of fatigue when driving - particularly when there had been an early start, a full day of skiing on a mountain at altitude, then a relatively long journey home.

Nearly two years earlier, in September 2003, Jason Trent Stephens, 16, of Taumarunui, was killed on SH1 in a head-on collision at Taupo.

The car in which they were travelling was hit by another driver, Raymond Katene, who had fallen asleep at the wheel travelling north from Porirua.

The driver of the other vehicle said she tried but could not avoid the collision. Jason, who was in the back, had undone his seatbelt to pick up a cellphone at the time of the collision.

He was thrown from the van, suffered a fractured skull, and died.

Mr Katene was charged with careless driving causing death, but the charge was withdrawn after it was shown a medical condition caused his sleepiness.

- NZPA