Sonny Kingi, second from left, with friends Jovita Williams, left, and Bob Pene and his aunt Denise Rewi-Wetini outside the Hamilton District Court this morning. Photo / Belinda Feek
Sonny Kingi, second from left, with friends Jovita Williams, left, and Bob Pene and his aunt Denise Rewi-Wetini outside the Hamilton District Court this morning. Photo / Belinda Feek
He battled serious arm and leg injuries after a transmission tower collapsed on him at work, but then Sonny Kingi was faced with an even bigger horror; the killing of his dad.
Norman Kingi, 54, was fatally stabbed in the heart after he and his partner confronted two teenage girls who were breaking into his car at his Ranui St home in July last year.
The WorkSafe prosecution of his employer Electrix Ltd eventuated after a 30m high temporary power pylon he was standing on at Ruakura Rd in August 2016 collapsed.
Outside court today, Kingi told the Herald he was pleased the WorkSafe prosecution was over.
"I'm happy to have it all over now. I'm happy with it, I mean, I went into it not expecting much so, but it's been a long time. [Boss] has been supportive.
"Everyone at work is pretty close, we're all a pretty tight pack."
Kingi was working with his father on the day of his accident, while his brother was also an Electrix employee.
As for his father's death, Kingi said it was a "busy year" and he'd been "keeping optimistic" in regards to both the WorkSafe prosecution and the sentencing of the teenager held responsible for his father's death.
A 16-year-old girl will next month be sentenced for the manslaughter of Norman Kingi, pictured above, after she fatally stabbed him in the heart outside his Hamilton home. Photo / Supplied
Electrix provides engineering, construction and maintenance services to the infrastructure sector.
Kingi along with several other colleagues, including his father, were working at the site on Ruakura Rd, Hamilton, on August 17, 2016, carrying out transmission line deviation works as part of the Waikato Expressway project and the construction of an inland port.
Electrix was contracted by Transpower NZ Ltd, to carry out the works at the site.
A pre-construction risk workshop was held and the risk of the transmission tower, or Lindsey Modular Emergency Restoration Structure [LER], collapsing was assessed.
LERs are described as consisting of lightweight aluminium lattice column sections that are bolted together to form a mast. They are not self-supporting structures and must be supported by four steel cables located at 90 degrees to each other.
All cables must remain connected and tensioned while the structure is being used. The loss of a cable can cause it to collapse.
The LERs used at Ruakura were 30m high and had been designed to have seven cables attached.
In what would later be described as an "administrative error", references to an earlier and separate project were accidentally included in the project management plan.
As well as the project management plan, a job safety analysis was also created.
Setting up the tower involved the use of a crane to put the tower into a bed of concrete.
Judge Melanie Harland noted that Electrix did not provide, and Waikato Cranes did not seek, any information as to how the sections of the towers would be set out, their location or how the cables were set nor the position or height of the conductors.
Sometime in early August, a last-minute decision was made to lower and secure the new towers due to soft ground.
Police and contractors at the scene on Ruakura Rd in August 2016 after the temporary pylon collapsed injuring line mechanic Sonny Kingi, now aged 23. Photo / File
On August 15, the first four pieces of a tower were lifted into position by a crane. The following day, the remaining three sections were lifted into place and secured.
However, critically, nobody on site that day checked to see that all the cables were still in place on the existing LER prior to beginning its disassembly.
Kingi climbed to the top of LER to continue the dismantling process but after disconnecting the third cable, there was nothing left to support it in place and the tower toppled backwards.
During its crash to the ground, Kingi managed to manoeuvre himself to the upward side of the tower as it fell.
Kingi suffered multiple injuries including bilateral knee dislocations, compound right radius and ulna fractures with a pulseless arm and compartment syndrome in his right forearm and left leg, leaving him disfigured and disabled.
WorkSafe attended the scene and found the front cable was not connected to its ground anchor, but instead several metres away in a close coiled loop.
Electrix later pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to ensure the safety of its workers while carrying out transmission line deviation works with that failure leading to serious injury.
Judge Harland today released her reserved decision after a hearing last month, where she revealed the level of fine to be handed down to Electrix and the reparation to be paid to Kingi,
She took into account a $40,000 payment the company made to Kingi a month after the incident and its ongoing support it had being offering including covering medical costs, re-employing him and allowing staff to visit him at no cost to sick leave.
The company also plans to pay for him to complete a four-year Wintec civil engineering degree at a cost of $75,000.
Judge Harland labelled the company's response to the incident as "exemplary" and it had gone "well beyond what needed to be done" to ensure it didn't happen again. However, it was now the company's sixth WorkSafe prosecution.
Despite its actions, the judge felt the company's offer to pay a further $15,000 in emotional harm reparation was too low.
She instead ordered the company a further $40,000.
As for handing down a fine, after issuing discounts of 55 per cent, the company was ordered to pay $332,060 as well as costs of $1759.50.
