Gisborne scooter driver died from chest injuries in crash with unlit truck

Flowers at the spot in Anzac St where Russell Grant, riding home on his moped from work at Cedenco on a Saturday night in March 2021, collided with a parked truck. Photo / Gisborne Herald

Two brothers watched helplessly as a scooter driver suffered fatal injuries when he drove directly into the back of an unlit truck that was “taking up most of road” in Anzac St, Gisborne.

Russell Kurt Grant, a 34-year-old father of one, was on his 50cc moped heading home after a 12-hour shift at Cedenco, when the incident happened about 10.15pm on March 27, 2021.

Hikurangi Moana and his brother were in a vehicle, driving towards Grant and had pulled left as much as possible to give him more room to pass the truck as they could see it was “taking up most of the road”. However, Grant didn’t move towards the centre of the road and ploughed straight into the back of the truck.

The brothers went to Grant’s aid, pulling him from underneath the trailer unit and trying to revive him before an ambulance arrived.

Grant died from his injuries in hospital just after midnight.

In findings released on Thursday, Coroner Ian Telford said a post-mortem showed Grant died of traumatic chest injuries suffered in the collision.

The Isuzu truck and trailer unit had been left on the street by Frederick Matete who was in the middle of a 12-hour shift and had stopped to visit his children about 10pm.

Initially Matete left the engine running but returned shortly afterwards to turn the truck off so he could take his full 30-minute break. When he turned the engine off, the lights also turned off. He told police he hadn’t checked to see if the vehicle’s night light was working. It was not.

Another motorist, who had driven with passengers along Anzac St shortly before Grant told police: “We all commented about the large vehicle being parked there that it was hard to see. There were no reflectors or lights showing on it and it was very dirty. Nothing reflected towards me from my headlights, not even the number plate”.

A serious crash unit report said the main causative factor in the crash was Grant’s failure to see the parked Isuzu. A contributing factor was its lack of a functioning rear marker light — it didn’t have a bulb.

Drivers must not park or leave any heavy goods vehicle or vehicle fitted with a flat deck tray on any roadway during the hours of darkness unless it displays a rearward-facing lamp that is visible.

The way Matete had parked the Isuzu left the rear corner of the trailer sitting about 600mm from the kerb.

Evidence from the scene showed Grant had not seen it as he didn’t apply his brakes.

A streetlight in front of the truck caused the rear of the trailer to be darker than expected. The vehicle travelling in the opposite direction likely also had an effect on Grant by causing the trailer to become less identifiable as his eyes adjusted to the other vehicle’s headlights.

No faults were identified with the scooter that could have caused or contributed to the crash.

Matete was charged in September, 2021, with careless or inconsiderate use of a vehicle causing Grant’s death. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months’ community detention and disqualified from driving for 12 months. The disqualification period was later reduced on appeal to six months.