SH2 fatal crash: Accused driver says she felt boxed in with nowhere to go on passing lane

A woman accused of causing a crash that killed a man and injured two others says she felt boxed in and unable to pull back when she and another car failed to merge on a passing lane.

The intersection at Gibbons St and SH2. Photo / Google

Although the driver, Lucilla Linda Brunt, did not take the stand on Tuesday, her lawyer Michael Antunovic said the 36-year-old had nowhere to go when the two cars met in one lane on the morning of November 14 2020.

"She was so shocked at what was happening she was just focused on keeping herself and her daughter safe," Antunovic said.

Brunt is accused of dangerous driving resulting in the death of motorist David Armstrong and injuring Caron and Mark Lancaster who were in another car.

Crown Prosecutor Grant Burston said at the start of the trial that both vehicles were travelling south along State Highway 2 when they came to a stop at the intersection of Gibbons St and SH2 Upper Hutt.

Armstrong was behind a vehicle in the left lane and Brunt was at the front of the queue on the right. The two lanes would become one with a merging lane 100m from the lights but when both cars moved through the intersection neither merged.

They travelled 400m, driving at approximately 103km/h side by side before disaster struck. The left-front of Brunt's vehicle collided with the back right door of Armstrong's Nissan, causing his car to spin into the northbound lane and collide with the Lancasters' Toyota. He died at the scene.

Senior Constable Lisa Toseland on Monday told the court there were a number of options available to Brunt at the time, including slowing down - something that could have prevented the contact that occurred.

In Antunovic's cross-examination of her on Tuesday, he asked the serious crash investigator to view CCTV footage and analyse Armstrong's driving in the lead-up to the crash.

He put it to her that Armstrong's driving was aggressive that morning, using an example of footage where the victim appeared to cut into a lane by making a sudden turn into the left lane in front of a firewood truck prior to the intersection involved in the crash.

"Would you agree that Mr Armstrong was driving a bit aggressively that morning?" he asked.

"He, by all accounts, seems to be rushed. I would be reluctant to say aggressive," Toseland replied.

The crash caused traffic delays that were captured by Waka Kotahi's cameras. Photo / Supplied

Antunovic said when both cars were parallel in the single lane Brunt still had right of way because she was on the right.

He put it to Toseland that, "she [Brunt] didn't cause this situation, did she?".

Toseland said Brunt contributed to it, and if there weren't two cars involved in the incident there wouldn't have been a crash.

"If that was the case we wouldn't be here," she said.

In closing, Antunovic said Armstrong was breaking the road rules, and with the cars running out of space the victim's driving was forcing Brunt's path into the oncoming traffic.

"It all came upon her rather rapidly and suddenly," he said.

He added that Armstrong was driving aggressively and "at some times, dangerously".

In the Crown's closing arguments, Burston said that a prudent driver would take time to slow down, and Brunt failed to do so.

"She describes herself as having enough time to tell her daughter to get her phone out and record this, a prudent driver would have been slowing down to avoid putting others in danger," Burston said.

"The Crown submits that Mrs Brunt should have slowed down herself."

He added that the witnesses to the crash that were called on by the Crown both said they thought something was going to happen, as "neither vehicle was giving up".

"The cause of this crash is that neither Mrs Brunt or Mr Armstrong has slowed to let the other into the lane."

The Crown submitted that both parties had space to pull back, but neither did.

The verdict has been reserved by Judge Mike Mika who will deliver his decision in person at the end of the month.

Judge Mika acknowledged the matter was a tragedy for everyone involved and appreciated the conduct of those in court.