Bereaved mum's plea backed by coroner

By CHRIS BRAMWELL in Taupo
A call from Casey Lind's mother for a barrier to be erected on the corner where her daughter was killed in a car crash has the backing of Taupo's coroner.
Sixteen-year-old Casey, of Taupo, died tragically when the car she was driving left the road on a sweeping left-hand bend on Poihipi Rd about 2km northwest of Taupo at about 10pm on February 2 this year. She was driving home in torrential rain after dropping her boyfriend home in Taupo.
The car slid on the wet road, over-corrected and then hit the wire fence on the other side of the road, Taupo Coroner Wallace Bain was told yesterday.
Her car then slid down the bank, and rolled, coming to rest on its roof. Casey died at the scene, her body trapped in the car.
Her vehicle was virtually hidden in long grass down the bank until spotted by a passing truck driver just after 8am the next morning.
Taupo police crash analyst Senior Constable Peter Sowter told the court he estimated her speed at the time of the accident to be 54km/hr.
He said Casey was wearing her seatbelt, the car's lights were on and the vehicle had been in good working order.
The teenager died of multiple internal injuries. Alcohol was not a factor.
Casey's mother, Sonja Lind said she had since noticed large amounts of water running across the road when driving there in the rain.
"When I drive around [the corner] in the rain I notice the water running from the outside to the inside [from the right to the left], and I did think that may have been a factor in her accident."
Better signage had been put up on the corner since Casey's death but she felt a barrier would be a better option, she said.
Mr Sowter supported Mrs Lind's theory that water running across the road may have been a factor in the accident and backed her call for a barrier. He added that Casey's accident was the second fatality on the corner in just over 12 months.
Dr Bain said he would write to the Taupo District Council raising concerns over safety issues on that section of road and request a report on the matter. He will release his findings next month.