A university student killed after falling about 20 metres in a bridge-swinging incident last year was performing a jump that typically involved three people throwing the jumper off a bridge "basically, as hard as they could", a High Court trial in Palmerston North has been told.
But the rope meant to secure Catherine Peters, 18, was too long, and she plunged on to rocks below the Manawatu's Ballance Bridge while bridge-swinging with the Massey Alpine Club on March 7 last year. She died of her injuries in hospital hours later.
Crag Adventures director Alastair Ross McWhannell, who had sole responsibility for the activity, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. His trial opened in the High Court at Palmerston North today.
The Crown have said McWhannell failed to ensure the swing rope was set to the right length and that the rope's end was secured to the bridge.
In his opening address, crown prosecutor Evan McCaughan said Ms Peters was doing her second jump for the day, and was trying a "mafia drop" - where she was thrown off the bridge - when she fell.
A former operator of the bridge swing, Scott Woods, appeared as the Crown's first witness.
Mr Woods said when person did their first jump they generally jumped from the platform, falling at a speed of about 70kmh, until the rope caught them and they were left swinging from the bridge.
On subsequent jumps, some people attempted tricks and other types of jumps, including the mafia drop, he said.
In the mafia drop, rather than jumping, the person was thrown off the bridge by a group.
"Three people lift them - at the head, the bottom and feet - and throw them, basically, as hard as they could off the bridge," Mr Woods told the court.
Earlier in the day, McWhannell had told several people after Ms Peters' fall he had had a lapse in concentration, Mr McCaughan said.
"He said something along the lines of: 'It's like when you're in your car and coming out of your driveway and you look left and right. Well this time I only looked left'," Mr McCaughan told the court.
However, in a subsequent police interview, McWhannell's story was different, Mr McCaughan said.
"He then claimed that as far as he knew he had pulled the ropes up and tied them off."
Mr McCaughan said McWhannell had supervised close to 20,000 bridge-swings prior to Ms Peters' fall.
His job involved two key aspects - ensuring the rope was pulled up to the correct length after each jump and tying the rope on the bridge each time, Mr McCaughan said.
"His job was simple. He only had to ensure two things - one at each end of the rope," he said. "His job was simple but he absolutely had to do it for every jumper. If the accused didn't do his job the jumper would almost certainly die."
A jury of seven men and five women were sworn in this morning. Justice Ronald Young is presiding.
Ms Peters' family were in court today.
