A coronial inquest is being held into a fatal collision between a house bus and a cyclist in Timaru. Photo / NZME stock
A coronial inquest is being held into a fatal collision between a house bus and a cyclist in Timaru. Photo / NZME stock
Details of a fatal collision between a cyclist and a house bus near Timaru in 2018 - including the driver’s restricted licence conditions due to a rare degenerative eyesight condition and “very poor” police work at the scene - are under examination by the Coroner this week.
The avid cyclist had been out on his daily ride when he collided with the vehicle on Washdyke Flat Road. He sustained severe injuries to his chest, abdomen, pelvis and spine and died soon after in hospital.
Police investigated the crash and the driver of the house bus, Malcolm Hill, was not charged.
The matter was referred to the Coroner and this week, more than six years after the crash, an inquest is being held in the Timaru District Court.
Coroner Heather McKenzie began proceedings by acknowledging the loss suffered by Stewart’s parents Alison and David and his brother Paul - and the length of time they have waited for the inquest.
The police handling of the scene will be probed at the inquest. Photo / Bevan Conley.
The details of the crash and the aim of the inquest were then outlined by Rebekah Jordan, counsel assisting the Coroner.
She said Stewart, who was living with his parents to help look after them, left for his daily ride at 1.52pm.
By 2.25pm he was on Washdyke Flat Rd, heading east.
The weather was fine, visibility “excellent”, and the road was not wet.
Hill turned into Washdyke Flat Road soon after Stewart, travelling in the same direction, in his Mitsubishi house bus.
He was travelling about 70km/h, well below the 100km/h speed limit.
As Hill overtook Stewart, he said the bike started “swerving”.
He pulled out even further to give the cyclist more space, but seconds later he heard “a thump” and realised the bike and house bus had collided.
Emergency services were called and arrived at the scene soon after. Tragically, Stewart’s injuries were not survivable.
Jordan said the purpose of the inquest was to determine the circumstances of Stewart’s death and cause of the collision, and whether the Coroner should make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in future.
She said there were two possible scenarios to consider; that there was a mechanical failure that caused Stewart to lose control of his bike and “wobble into the path of the house bus”.
An bike expert would give evidence the failure was a cut in the front inner tube caused by it being “incorrectly fitted” which resulted in a “sudden flat tyre” which meant Stewart had difficulty controlling the bike.
The second scenario is that Hill “misjudged the amount of road required to pass the cyclist”.
A second expert would testify that the damage to the tyre was a direct result of the collision and Hill simply failed to see Stewart and “caused the crash”.
He would also speak about the “sub-optimal” actions of police first to the scene.
He said Stewart’s bike was moved and then photographed only “sparingly”.
“An attempt was not made to preserve evidence, the scene preservation was very poor, the road was not closed and the timeliness in contacting the Serious Crash Unit was sub-optimal,” Jordan said.
“If they had been contacted earlier, the exact point of impact could have been located.”
Hill was the first witness called, and told Coroner McKenzie that after he finished giving his initial statement at the scene, the officer went and moved Stewart’s bike.
“He went and uplifted the cycle… took the wheels off… put it in the back of his police car,” he said.
“He also uplifted the cyclist’s drink bottle and glasses and put them in the car too.
“He then received a phone call and spoke to someone before getting back out of the car and removing the drink bottle, and the glasses and threw them back onto the grass.
“He then got the cycle back out of his car and put the wheels back on it and put that back on the grass also.
“I told him he shouldn’t be shifting it, that somebody would want to look at it.... then somebody rang him and he put the bloody thing back, but he didn’t put it back where he found it.
He confirmed he had been diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease when he was 55 and as a result had restrictions attached to his driving licence.
The disease is an inherited form of Macular Degeneration that causes deterioration of the central vision.
Hill was still allowed to drive but had to submit a specialist eye report to NZTA Waka Kotahi every 12 months.
From 2017 he was only allowed to drive within 15km of his home, and only in daylight. That distance was later varied to allow him to get to work and his daughter’s home.
His 2018 eye test was due on April 20 but he failed to provide it on time.
He called NZTA on May 8 advising the test had been done and report sent.
Jordan said NZTA had confirmed they would not automatically or immediately revoke a licence if a report was late.
Hill told Coroner McKenzie that his eye condition had nothing to do with the collision.
“At the time my eyesight was good as gold. It only really causes me issues at night so I don’t drive at all when it’s dark,” he said.
“As far as I was aware at the time I was fully allowed to drive legally. I am 100 percent, without a doubt sure my eyesight had nothing to do with the crash with the cyclist. I could easily see him.”
Hill said the condition had not impacted his work as a hydraulic engineer and he had not noticed any change in the lead up to the crash. He was wearing his prescription glasses at the time.
Further, his sight did not change intermittently and he had not noticed any negative change between his last two tests.
“In day time it’s not really bad at all,” he said.
“My eyes are the same every day... There’s obviously a slow degeneration all the time, but that shows up with the eye test. You would have to look at the reports to see how much degeneration there was… there would have been some, there’s no doubt about that.”
The driver had a current driver's licence, but he was only allowed to drive during daylight hours and only a certain distance from home. Photo / file
Hill said there were no trees or hedges that would have created shadows or darkness that would impact his vision.
He was adamant that he could see Stewart, the road and the collision was nothing to do with his sight.
He estimated he’d driven the road where it happened “more than 12,000 times” and had passed cyclists in the same manner frequently with no issue.
He rejected suggestions he had caused the crash, and his memory of Stewart “wobbling” was not reliable.
“When I first saw them they were a long way in front of me, at least the length of a football field. I can’t recall what speed I would have been doing…. it would have been 70km an hour maximum as the bus isn’t all that fast.
“It all happened so quick. I had to jam the brakes on and swerve at the same time.”
The inquest continues.
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
