Roger Sydney Samson, 19, admitted a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Nateisha-Kurstyn Hana-Wetere in the Te Kuiti District Court today. Photo / NZME
A trailer that broke free from a South Taranaki man’s vehicle, crashing into a woman’s car and instantly killing her, not only had “excessive” corrosion and seized brakes, but so much rust that it went through entire sections of the frame.
The trailer and boat that Roger Sydney Samson was towing was not meant to be on the road.
It hadn’t had a warrant of fitness for nine years, but the 19-year-old re-registered it as being new this year before attempting to drive it approximately 370km from Tauranga to New Plymouth.
Samson appeared in the Te Kūiti District Court today, where he admitted dangerous driving causing the death of 23-year-old Nateisha-Kurstyn Hana-Wetere on July 11.
A large number of Hana-Wetere’s whānau were also in court to hear Samson enter his guilty plea, while Judge Kim Saunders acknowledged the “loss and sorrow” they must all be feeling.
“I appreciate how difficult it must be ... to sit in court and see the person who was responsible for the death of your loved one.”
She also told them all they were welcome to write a victim impact statement and read it to Samson at his sentencing in April.
The eight-page summary of facts states in detail how Samson contacted a person selling a Haines Hunter fibreglass boat and metal trailer in Tauranga on June 23, via Facebook Marketplace.
The boat was listed as a “project boat” as there was a “considerable amount” of work required to get both boat and trailer up to seaworthy and roadworthy standard.
The trailer’s WOF expired in July 2016 and it had been “extensively affected by corrosion”, to the point there were visible holes in its frame and large areas of discolouration.
On June 23, the seller of the boat messaged Samson saying, “brakes are not to [sic] bad, just need a drag around the block to free them up, tyres are good, has a bit of rust on frame rail but doesn’t look like it will brake [sic] easily, lights work”.
In photos sent to Samson, there were two areas on the trailer that had completely corroded.
On the phone, Samson told the seller he was a “fabricator and machinist”, which put him at ease about assessing the trailer’s condition.
He got its details and on July 10, paid for a new registration from Hāwera VTNZ, registering it as a “grey 2025 homebuilt New Zealand new TB trailer”.
The following day, he, his partner and an associate travelled from New Plymouth to Tauranga, arriving about 9am.
The seller pointed out areas of corrosion, and Samson replied, “Oh yip, that doesn’t look too bad”.
He bought the trailer and boat for $3000, hitched it to his Volkswagen and set off on the approximately 370km journey back to New Plymouth.
He cut through an alternate route from Piarere to Kihikihi so he wouldn’t have to use SH1 and possibly be stopped by police.
As he travelled south of Te Kūiti on SH3, the trailer broke on the drawbar, about 30cm back from the tow ball.
At the same time, Hana-Wetere and her 3-year-old son were travelling north in the passing lane.
The trailer and boat crossed the centre line, crashing into her car.
Due to the impact, the boat moved off the trailer and careered straight through the windscreen, fatally striking Hana-Wetere.
The police serious crash unit found numerous issues with the trailer.
The front right section of its frame was “compromised by excessive corrosion to the point where it had rusted through the entire thickness of the structure, leaving visible holes”.
There was also “excessive corrosion” at the pivot point, where the front drawbar of the trailer is held to the cross beam by a bolt; in the drawbar; and on the brake discs, while both brake callipers were contaminated with grease, with the right one completely seized and “non-operational”.
The combined weight of the trailer and boat was 2380kg.
As the trailer had faulty and non-operational brakes, the vehicle was only able to safely tow up to 750kg.
Samson knew the trailer was unwarranted and, despite having inspecting it, he tried to tow it 370km to his home, “ignoring the clearly visible and significant corrosion and falsely registering it as a new trailer”.
“The defendant’s decision to tow the unroadworthy trailer created a situation where the public was placed in danger,” the police summary of facts stated.
Hana-Wetere suffered fractures to her skull, jaw, ribs, humerus, femur and elbow, along with lacerations to her liver, spleen and kidneys.
Samson was convicted and remanded on bail to reappear for sentencing in April, before being escorted out of the court and over to the adjacent Te Kūiti police station by detectives and security staff.
Hana-Wetere’s brother, Te Huia Brown-Hana, told RNZ in August his sister was on her way back home to Auckland after a holiday in New Plymouth when the crash happened.
His sister was “larger than life”, caring and had a “bubbly” personality.
She was everything you could have wanted and more in terms of a sibling.
“She always accepted everyone for who they were. She didn’t pass judgment on no one.”
Hana-Wetere’s partner was working in Australia, and she was planning to join him eventually.
“She had everything going – she started planning out what she wanted in her life and how she wanted to get there and she was actually doing really well,” Brown-Hana said.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.