Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Auckland truck driver imprisoned for manslaughter after fatal Taupō crash

Zizi Sparks
By Zizi Sparks
Multimedia journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
31 Aug, 2018 10:59 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Daniel William Raukawa Taukava, 41, was sentenced at the High Court at Rotorua. Photo / File

Daniel William Raukawa Taukava, 41, was sentenced at the High Court at Rotorua. Photo / File

It was raining when Auckland truck driver Daniel William Raukawa Taukava, 41, was speeding along State Highway 1 at Atiamuri near Taupō.

He wasn't wearing a seatbelt, hadn't had enough sleep over previous days, and three months earlier had deliberately disabled the truck's electronic braking system.

On the evening of January 25, 2017, as Taukava approached a right-hand bend in the road, the truck, which carried a 90km/h speed limit, crossed the centre line and collided with a motorcyclist killing him.

The truck drove into a culvert and back onto the road, swerving between north and southbound lanes and colliding with and sliding along an embankment, coming to rest in a jack-knife position.

Nineteen months after Napier motorcyclist Te Wanehi Wakefield, 56, lost his life in the crash, Taukava has been jailed for two years and 10 months for manslaughter, and disqualified from driving for four months from the day of release.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Justice Edwin Wylie sentenced Taukava in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday on one charge of manslaughter by driving a vehicle dangerously, two charges of making a false statement in a logbook, and one charge each of failing to deliver a logbook to an employer and not taking 10 hours rest.

His sentencing notes said Taukava was on his way back from a trip from the Coromandel to Nelson. He was on the last stage of what was to be a three-day trip.

"You were not getting sufficient rest and you were sleeping for no more than a few hours at any one time, often in your truck."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The notes explain Taukava had tried to decelerate the truck using the engine retarder which is generally not used in wet road conditions.

"You actions constituted a major departure from the standard of care expected of a reasonably prudent truck driver because you were travelling at excessive speed downhill and in wet conditions.

"The [electronic braking] system was disabled at the time of the accident that caused Mr Wakefield's death.

"You acknowledged that the retarder should never be used in the wet because it could be 'lethal'."

Discover more

Man killed in Taupo crash named

27 Jan 05:58 AM
New Zealand

Fatal crash: Driver pleads not guilty to manslaughter

22 Nov 12:56 AM
New Zealand

Truck driver charged over death of motorcyclist

06 Mar 10:43 PM
New Zealand

Trial set down for truck driver on manslaughter charge

08 May 11:07 PM

Taukava's logbook offences were found after police began investigating the collision and found discrepancies and false statements in the book.

Justice Wylie said Taukava was genuinely remorseful but had numerous infringement notices for speeding in a heavy motor vehicle.

Taukava had received infringement notices on three occasions for speeding in 2013 alone.

"Clearly you have not learnt the lesson that speeding in any vehicle, let alone a heavy truck, is foolhardy and dangerous," Wylie said in his notes.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM

One man is charged with manslaughter and the other with being an accessory after the fact.

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM
Light truck rolls on SH36, one seriously injured

Light truck rolls on SH36, one seriously injured

10 Jul 10:45 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP