The scene of the 2018 crash on State Highway 10 that cost James Hamiora (top) and Yvarn Tepania their lives.
A scathing report into the police investigation of a car crash in which two people died has identified multiple failings in the investigation and prosecution of a young American tourist who survived.
The prosecution collapsed after witness statements gathered by private investigator Mike Sabin included claims that the driver - Yvarn Tepania, 24 - steered his car towards an oncoming campervan.
Drunk and with methamphetamine in his system, Tepania is alleged to have headed straight at the campervan before taking his hands off the wheel, leaning back, and saying to his passengers: “Sorry cuzzies”.
Two young Northland men were killed in the 2018 crash - driver Tepania, 24, and front seat passenger James Hamiora, 26.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority report released this morning found flaws in the initial work by police at the crash scene south of Kerikeri in Northland and failings in the investigation that followed which led to the prosecution of the driver of the campervan struck by Tepania’s car, tourist Reiss Berger, then aged 21.
In response, Acting Northland District Commander Inspector Dion Bennett said police acknowledged and accepted the finding that there were deficiencies in the investigation.
Inquiries through the Official Information Act have also revealed police undertook major changes after a review into the case - but that it was a review that happened almost three years after the crash and only after the Herald published a major investigation into events.
The IPCA investigation by Judge Kenneth Johnston KC did not use the names of those involved but the Herald investigation has revealed the identities of those involved.
The late-night accident came as Berger drove north on State Highway 10 during a break from university in Australia to spend time with his girlfriend who was also American but on a study transfer in Auckland.
The campervan in which they were travelling was on the wrong side of the road when it collided with a Subaru heading south with Tepania at the wheel, Hamiora at his side and two others in the back.
Berger was initially charged with careless driving causing death - then later aggravated careless driving - two counts of causing death and three of causing injury.
In 2021, the case was later thrown out of court after Berger’s lawyer Mike Dodds presented evidence gathered by private investigator Mike Sabin alleging Tepania’s life had spiralled downwards after methamphetamine abuse and that he crossed the centre line.
It was alleged the collision happened when one of the passengers yanked the wheel to get back into their lane into which Berger had steered in a bid to avoid the crash.
The IPCA inquiry found police were right to charge Berger with the campervan found in the wrong lane but were highly critical of the steps that followed.
Those criticisms began with a slew of steps taken by police after they gave first aid care to those who survived the crash and continued from the crash scene to the courtroom.
It found the first police officer at the crash site, Constable Julian Trinder, and his superior officer, Sergeant Dan Williams, who also attended, “did not have sufficient command and control of the scene” and should have sought help from experienced colleagues, including detectives.
There was also criticism of Trinder not recording in his notebook comments made by Berger, who later claimed he told the officer he was on the “right” side of the road. Berger later said his comments meant he was in the correct lane before the crash.
There was also criticism that statements taken by Trinder “lacked detail” and contained “inconsistencies that should have been investigated further”. He also failed to interview emergency workers at the crash site.
Northland’s serious crash unit investigator Senior Constable Hermanus Hubner arrived from Whangārei about 90 minutes after the crash carrying out an “initial scene investigation” the IPCA said “was not sufficiently robust given the seriousness of the crash and the likely criminal charges”.
The IPCA report said Hubner’s investigation was “not sufficiently thorough”. While he claimed he was present to witness the separation and removal of the vehicles involved in the crash, the IPCA investigation found he was back at the Whangārei police station 30 minutes before the tow truck that carried out the task arrived to do the job.
It found Hubner’s actions at the crash site “did not follow basic training given to staff that covers photographing, gathering scene evidence, scene sketches and gathering evidence from damage to the vehicles”.
The IPCA found Hubner’s “assumption in thinking the American tourist must be at fault, coupled with the fact the two vehicles were found in the southbound lane, resulted in him not completing an objective and thorough investigation”.
It said a thorough investigation should always be carried out and SCU analyst “did not appear to take into account the witness statements, scene evidence and toxicology evidence in his analysis”. The toxicology evidence showed Tepania had five times the legal limit of alcohol in his system - and methamphetamine”.
There was criticism also for Williams who “did not ensure the integrity of the vehicles was maintained for evidential purposes”.
Trinder also faced criticism for failing to make sure key witnesses were interviewed by appropriate staff, that witness statements contained sufficient detail or were fact-checked or that he recorded in his notebook or job sheets the steps he took and people he spoke to in the investigation.
He was also criticised for failing to update whānau of the Hamiora and Tepania on the police investigation and for not responding to requests from the police prosecutor “in a timely fashion”.
Trinder’s supervising officer also faced criticism for his oversight of Trinder and for not making sure he had the support needed to do his job.
Criticisms extended to the prosecutor handling the case with the IPCA finding she was not justified in escalating the charges two days following the crash.
The criticisms went further to the Northland manager of police prosecution who should have reassigned the case to somebody else when the initial prosecutor went on leave. Police also faced criticism over delays in providing the defence with material showing its case against Berger.
However, the IPCA found police were “justified” in continuing the prosecution of Berger although said there was not enough evidence to escalate the charges to “aggravated” - a change which meant the American faced up to three years in jail. The IPCA supported a decision by a new prosecutor to drop the higher-level charges by the time it came to court.
Details in the IPCA report show Trinder was confronted by a crash scene he considered “chaos” and that it was the first he had attended in which the potential offender was still alive. It said Williams had previously been to three fatal crashes.
The IPCA observed police policy required “suitably qualified employees are assigned” to serious crashes. The report also aligned Hubner’s role in a small police station in a provincial community where he was “expected to handle anything that came his way” with its previous work on the risks posed to police officers working in “small communities”.
Hubner had told the inquiry he “did not have the capacity to spend the necessary time on the investigation” because he was working on 15 other investigation files and “probably did not have the experience and knowledge to be responsible for a file of this nature”.
The IPCA said the onus was on Hubner to seek assistance - and found his senior officer, who worked at a different police station, failed to provide proper oversight.
Bennett said the police had since made changes including establishing a Detective Sergeant and Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) investigator role within the Road Policing Group, developing a guide for staff undertaking interviews of persons involved in crashes, providing serious crash training and increasing the number of staff recruited into the area and improving rostering.
He said the Serious Crash Investigation policy for Northland was also updated in July 2022 and now required CIB involvement in any fatal crash, until a decision was made by the relevant Area Commander as to the appropriate level of the investigation.
“We understand the impact these tragic events have had on the families involved and accept responsibility for our role in this situation.”
The case collapsed after the statements collected from Sabin’s investigation were emailed to police and a review of the case found there was insufficient evidence to go to trial. Berger sought through lawyer Mike Dodds a full payment of $149,673 for legal fees and costs - including a crash expert and Sabin’s investigation. The judge awarded $30,000, saying there was “no bad faith” from police.
Northland police held a “debrief” on the crash investigation on November 5, 2021 - more than three years after the collision and after previous delays yet six days after the Herald’s investigation was published.
Information obtained through the Official Information Act showed the debrief was led by Inspector Riki Whiu, area commander, and included reviewing a range of changes made since the double-fatal incident.
Those included increased police staffing numbers, changes to serious crash training and strengthened supervision.
There were also changes to how investigation files were reviewed, the appointment of a detective sergeant to a senior crash investigation role, and a range of system changes.
David Fisher is based in Northland and has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, winning multiple journalism awards including being twice named Reporter of the Year and being selected as one of a small number of Wolfson Press Fellows to Wolfson College, Cambridge. He first joined the Herald in 2004.
Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.