Man arrested over deadly cherry-picker accident

A man will appear in the Auckland District Court today on a manslaughter charge in relation to an incident where a cherry-picker boom broke free and killed a girl.

The 37-year-old North Shore man was arrested this morning following the March 5 death of 10-year-old Avondale girl Rhama Mohamed.

Rhama was walking to school on the footpath along New North Rd when the boom of a cherry-picker, being towed by a station wagon, broke free and struck her in the head.

She was taken to the Starship hospital in a critical condition with head injuries after being struck, but died four hours later.

A 10-week police inquiry focused on how the boom came loose and whether anyone would be charged in connection with the incident.

The cherry-picker - which holds a 150kg bucket at the end of its boom - its trailer and the station wagon towing it were examined by police during the investigation.