Offroad-Express

Central Otago man killed in 4WD crash Saturday, 10 May 2008

A man has been killed after the 4WD vehicle he was in rolled off a track in Central Otago.

Sergeant Ken Anderson from Gore police said the 22-year-old man was part of a group driving 4WDs over a remote track between Waikaia, north of Gore, and Roxburgh about mid-day.

"It appears the vehicle lost traction, sliding backwards before rolling into a gully," Mr Anderson said.

The dead man was a passenger in a Toyota Landcruiser.

-NZPA

dazza85 wrote:It makes Roll Cages sound like a good investment

Rolling 4WD kills Qtown plumber
By SOPHIE SPEER - The Southland Times | Monday, 12 May 2008

A 22-year-old Queenstown man was killed when the four-wheel-drive vehicle he was travelling in rolled into a gully near White Coomb Rd on Saturday.

Liam David Newton Batty Brook, a plumber, was part of a group of five 4WD vehicles travelling along White Coomb Rd, a 4WD track that runs between Waikaia in Southland and Shingle Creek in Central Otago.

Officer in charge Constable Jacob Schriek, of Riversdale, said Mr Brook was a backseat passenger in a Toyota Landcruiser travelling along Waikaia Bush Rd, a clay track, about midday on Saturday when the vehicle lost traction and began sliding backwards.

The loss of traction was probably caused by clay compacting into the tred of the tyres, he said.

The driver attempted to regain control of the vehicle but when he failed to do so he told the occupants to get out, Mr Schriek said.

"He (the driver) and the other two passengers did, but a fourth person didn't get out." Mr Brook was killed when the truck rolled into a gully.

Paramedics at the scene said he would not have been able to survive his injuries, he said.

Dunedin's Otago Rescue Helicopter attended the scene as well as police.

The group were "mates and mates of mates" and the driver was a friend of Mr Brook's, Mr Schriek said.

The popular 4WD track could be treacherous in poor conditions and will be closed for the winter next weekend.

The track was closed during winter to preserve the environment, and to prevent people getting snowbound.

"There's no definitive answer (whether the track is safe). In the right conditions a moderately skillful person and a moderately suitable vehicle can get up but in the wrong conditions no one can get up there," he said.

Chains are recommended to be worn while four-wheel-driving and some of the vehicles in the group had them, but the one which crashed did not.

The nature of four-wheel-driving was to test themselves, Mr Schriek said.

"It's not so much dangerous as tricky ... (it's about) understanding conditions and (having) both ability and the right type of vehicle and equipment.

dazza85 wrote:Also copied off Stuff.co.nz

Rolling 4WD kills Qtown plumber
By SOPHIE SPEER - The Southland Times | Monday, 12 May 2008

A 22-year-old Queenstown man was killed when the four-wheel-drive vehicle he was travelling in rolled into a gully near White Coomb Rd on Saturday.

Liam David Newton Batty Brook, a plumber, was part of a group of five 4WD vehicles travelling along White Coomb Rd, a 4WD track that runs between Waikaia in Southland and Shingle Creek in Central Otago.

Officer in charge Constable Jacob Schriek, of Riversdale, said Mr Brook was a backseat passenger in a Toyota Landcruiser travelling along Waikaia Bush Rd, a clay track, about midday on Saturday when the vehicle lost traction and began sliding backwards.

The loss of traction was probably caused by clay compacting into the tred of the tyres, he said.

The driver attempted to regain control of the vehicle but when he failed to do so he told the occupants to get out, Mr Schriek said.

"He (the driver) and the other two passengers did, but a fourth person didn't get out." Mr Brook was killed when the truck rolled into a gully.

Paramedics at the scene said he would not have been able to survive his injuries, he said.

Dunedin's Otago Rescue Helicopter attended the scene as well as police.

The group were "mates and mates of mates" and the driver was a friend of Mr Brook's, Mr Schriek said.

The popular 4WD track could be treacherous in poor conditions and will be closed for the winter next weekend.

The track was closed during winter to preserve the environment, and to prevent people getting snowbound.

"There's no definitive answer (whether the track is safe). In the right conditions a moderately skillful person and a moderately suitable vehicle can get up but in the wrong conditions no one can get up there," he said.

Chains are recommended to be worn while four-wheel-driving and some of the vehicles in the group had them, but the one which crashed did not.

The nature of four-wheel-driving was to test themselves, Mr Schriek said.

"It's not so much dangerous as tricky ... (it's about) understanding conditions and (having) both ability and the right type of vehicle and equipment.

1nzsafari wrote:in the Otago Daily Times ," ODT understands the vehicle might not have been equipped with snow chains. It started to slide slowly back down the track.the driver said "Get out" three of them opened the doors and got out. "It was hardly moving ,the fourth person stayed in and we dont know why ,the vehicle continued to slide and began to gather speed, before rolling into a gully

Driver pleads not guilty over death
The Southland Times
Last updated 05:00 21/04/2009

An Arrowtown man involved in a fatal four-wheel-drive accident last year pleaded not guilty in the Queenstown District Court yesterday to careless driving causing death.

The court was told Dale Spencer Jefcoate, 28, plumber, was behind the wheel when the vehicle slid near White Coomb Rd, a 4WD track that runs between Waikaia, in Southland, and Shingle Creek, in Central Otago, on May 10.

Jefcoate and two other passengers got of out the vehicle, but 22-year-old Liam David Newton Batty Brook didn't and was killed in the incident.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Gerken said the death was a consequence of Jefcoate's driving, primarily his decision not to fit chains and lock the differential.

"We understand that he was offered chains; that he had them in the vehicle," he said.

The 4WD truck was part of a five-vehicle convoy, two of which had fitted chains for the muddy conditions, he said.

However, defence lawyer Sonia Vidal said Jefcoate gave his passengers plenty of warning when the 4WD began to slide and everyone else got out easily, while Mr Brook stayed put.

"The deceased remained in the vehicle and no-one knows why," she said.The scene was examined by experts two days after the incident, when even officer-in-charge Senior Constable Jacob Schriek admitted the scene had been obliterated by rain, she said.

None of the people involved in the trip or the victim's parents, who were present in court, wanted the prosecution to proceed, she said.

Further complicating the matter was the death last month of Mr Schriek.

But Judge Mary O'Dwyer warned Ms Vidal that, while the defendant might believe strongly in his innocence, that was subjective judgment, while the test for culpability was objective.

"There would appear to be reasonable evidence to suggest there wasn't a sufficient degree of care and caution taken, particularly in the case of chains," she said.

Jefcoate was remanded at large to appear for a status hearing in the Gore District Court on May 5.

Three days will then be set down for a defended hearing, with witnesses including police experts and people from the other trucks in the convoy.

4WD trip fatality recounted
The Southland Times

On a crisp, sunny, autumn morning a group of mates in five four-wheel-drive vehicles set off from Piano Flat for a drive across the Whitecomb to Bannockburn.

Within a couple of hours one of them was dead after the traverse of a steep hill went tragically wrong.

Liam Brook was killed when the 4WD in which he was a passenger slid off a track on the Waikaia Bush road on May 10 last year. He was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled into a small stream at the bottom of a gully.

The events of that day and intricacies of four-wheel-driving were recounted in the Gore District Court yesterday on the first day of a defending hearing for Arrowtown plumber Dale Spencer Jefcoate, 29, who has been charged with careless use of a motor vehicle causing Mr Brook's death.

Judge Graeme Noble heard evidence from other drivers in the convoy, who described the track where the incident occurred as nothing out of the ordinary.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Gerken said the police case centred on the choices Jefcoate made that day his choice to drive straight up the hill, to check whether manual differential lock was engaged and whether chains needed to be put on the vehicle.

Mr Gerken said police would call an expert witness who rated the hill's gradient similar to Baldwin St, in Dunedin, considered the world's steepest street.

Jefcoate had been second or third to tackle the hill and had almost reached a terraced section when his vehicle lost traction and started to slide. Jefcoate ordered his passengers out and had been first to bail out, followed by two of his passengers. One was almost clipped by the truck as it rotated.

No-one in the truck had been wearing seat belts and it appeared Mr Brook was ejected near the end. The vehicle may have rolled on him, Mr Gerken said.Hamish Robinson, of Invercargill, who had been driving one of the trucks, said the drivers had checked the tracks before going up the hill, to see if there were any big ruts or greasy patches to avoid. There were three sets of ruts going up the hill and they were like a farm track. "I'd never hesitate going up a track like that."

Mr Robinson said he took the middle line, considering the ruts to the right as too deep.

Adam Fraser, of Invercargill, said he did not think the track looked very challenging.

"I thought it would be fine, it looked quite dry."

Mr Robinson and Mr Fraser said they had fitted chains to their rear tyres and locked their front hubs when they were at Christie's Hut. The chains were for snow expected on the tops.

Mr Robinson said he did not know if the chains had made any difference on the hill track. He had been up the track twice, once with chains and once without, and had no trouble either time.
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Mr Fraser said he believed he would have got up the hill without chains. Another truck, with less tread on its tyres, had made it up the hill without any problems.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Sonia Vidal, Mr Robinson said a little rock was capable of popping a truck's wheels out of a rut.

The hearing continues today.

Driver 'told mates to bail out of 4WD'
The Southland Times
12/08/2009

The driver of a four-wheel-drive vehicle that plunged down a gully, killing a backseat passenger, had ordered his mates out as the vehicle started sliding downhill, but they thought he was joking.

It was not until Dale Jefcoate had yelled "bail, bail, get the f**k out now!" that his three passengers took him seriously, Judge Graeme Noble was told yesterday during the second day of a defended hearing in the Gore District Court.

Jefcoate, 28, a plumber of Arrowtown, has denied operating a vehicle carelessly causing the death of Liam Brook on May 10 in Whitecoomb Rd.

Mr Brook failed to get out of the vehicle before it plunged backwards down a gully. He was thrown from the vehicle and it rolled on him, before coming to rest in a small stream.

Jefcoate's vehicle had been in a convoy of five, a group of mates on a day's run from Piano Flat to Bannockburn.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Gerken yesterday presented evidence from two men who had been in Jefcoate's vehicle, as well as a 4WD expert.

Joshua Sinclair, of Arrowtown, and Joshua Hunt, of Christchurch, said they had had no qualms about their friend's driving on the day.

Mr Sinclair said the vehicle had been tracking well up a steep hill, after a section of track known as the Zigzag, when it felt like it went "over a little bump".

The front started to slip around and it continued to slide, despite Jefcoate trying a few "tricks" to get it back on track. The driver told everyone to get out but they thought he was joking, Mr Sinclair said.

It was not until Jefcoate yelled "bail, bail, get the f**k out now!" that they realised the gravity of the situation, he said.

Jefcoate jumped first, immediately followed by Mr Hunt. Both men had been on the uphill side of the sliding vehicle.

Mr Sinclair said he was faced with jumping downhill of the vehicle, as was Mr Brook, who had been sitting behind him.

Mr Sinclair said he waited, thinking the truck would do a 180-degree turn but quickly realised it was not going to.

"I just jumped towards the back wheel hoping it would spin."

Nothing was said between Mr Brook and himself "my concentration was just on getting out".

He said the truck was going slightly faster than walking speed when he jumped out but it appeared to speed up considerably afterwards.

Jefcoate had chains in his vehicle but Mr Sinclair said he had never seen him use them. Two vehicles in the convoy had chains fitted to the rear tyres.

Jefcoate's vehicle was the only one with the rear differential lock but it was not engaged.

4WD expert Robert Holmes, of Dunedin, who had been over the track about 10 times in the past 20 years, said he would have had chains on and the rear differential lock engaged to negotiate the hill. Both would have significantly helped traction.

Driver in fatal crash cleared

By SONIA GERKEN in Gore

The driver of a four-wheel-drive vehicle involved in a fatal accident last year said he could get on with grieving for his mate after being cleared of any negligence.

In a written decision released yesterday following a two-day defended hearing in the Gore District Court last month, Judge Graeme Noble dismissed a charge against Arrowtown plumber Dale Jefcoate of operating a vehicle carelessly causing the death of Liam Brook.

Judge Noble says the case was very finely balanced.

If it had been a civil case he would have had little difficulty finding, on the balance of probabilities, that the defendant was negligent.

"But by a narrow margin I am not prepared to say that errors of judgment of this extent or degree, in these particular circumstances, reach the high standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt," Judge Noble says.

Mr Brook was one of three passengers in Mr Jefcoate's vehicle on a day run over the Old Man Range on the Waikaia Bush road.

There had been five vehicles in the convoy and one had already successfully negotiated a steep hill climb, just after a section of the road known as the zig-zag, when the accident happened.

Mr Jefcoate's vehicle slid off the track and, despite his attempts to get it under control, it plunged down a gully. Mr Brook failed to get out in time and was thrown from the vehicle. It rolled on him, before coming to rest in a stream.

Mr Jefcoate said the decision was a huge relief. It had been a tough 15 months since the accident, not only for him but everyone else involved in the incident and their families.

"It's a hell of a burden lifted off my shoulders."

The 28-year-old said while he was not familiar with the court process, he was concerned about the length of time it took to have the case heard.

"To me it does seem to have taken much, much too long."

This was a tragic accident and he was looking forward to being able to start the grieving process for his friend and move on, Mr Jefcoate said. He has been back to the track since the accident and had not been put off 4WD treks but it had slowed him down,.

The police case had been that Mr Jefcoate operated the vehicle carelessly because of his decision to drive up the track, that he did not engage the differential lock and did not fit tyre chains.

In his decision, Judge Noble says the desirable best practice, as outlined by prosecution witness Robert Homer, a 4WD expert, was beyond what would have been expected of the reasonable and prudent driver on the day and in the circumstances.

Mum: Is there no justice here?

Helen Brook is shocked and devastated no-one will be held accountable for the death of her son Liam.

For two and a half days last month she sat in the Gore District Court and listened to the events leading to the fatal climb up a steep hillside by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, attempts by the driver to get his vehicle under control before screaming at his passengers to bail out, and her son appearing to sit calmly as the 4WD plunged into a gully.

The news that a criminal charge against the driver of the 4WD had been dismissed has caused the university art student to question the judicial system.

"Is there no justice here? There needs to be a lesson learnt from this for everyone."

It was hard to accept there would be no penalty imposed, not even a loss of a driver's licence, she said.

"It's like nothing's happened but my son's dead."

Ms Brook said she had spent the past few days crying, wanting to curl up in a ball so no-one could hurt her.

T-Boon wrote:I think thats pretty bad of the deceased's mother to expect that someone should be penalised for an accident.