A Georgetown farmer and his wife desperately tried to save
their only son after the motorcycle he was riding collided
with a four-wheel-drive vehicle on the dairy farm they had
only shifted to months before, the Coroner's Court in Oamaru
was told yesterday.
However, their attempts to revive Matthew James Richardson
(10) were unsuccessful and coroner David Crerar found the boy
died on October 6 last year from severe trauma, including
complete severance of the spinal cord, after the 80cc,
two-wheel motorcycle he was riding collided with a Nissan
Terrano driven by a farm employee.
His father, Andrew Richardson, was working in a neighbouring
paddock when he heard the motorbike being ridden on a farm's
track, then a crash about 12.50pm.
The Nissan was stopped on the track and when he ran over, he
saw Michael lying about 2m in front of the vehicle.
The boy was not breathing.
He rolled his son over into the recovery position, then
removed the full-face helmet he was wearing.
Michael's heart was beating "reasonably well" and Mr
Richardson started resuscitation.
The employee, Willem Bronkhorst, who had only arrived the
previous day to work on the farm, phoned for an ambulance
while Mr Richardson and his wife, Barbara, continued to work
on Michael.
Mr Richardson said he "feared we had lost him" and when
ambulance staff arrived they confirmed he had died.
Michael was "really sensible on his motorbike", had been told
to wear safety equipment and keep left on farm tracks, he
said.
Mr Bronkhorst said he was approaching a blind brow of the
hill on [his] left side of the track when he saw Matthew
riding his motorbike towards him.
Mr Bronkhorst braked and had stopped when the motorbike hit
the front of the truck.
Health and safety inspector Paul Solomon, who investigated
the crash, said there was no clear breach of occupational
safety and no enforcement action was being taken against any
of the parties.
Mr Crerar said a crash investigator estimated the motorcycle
was travelling at between 15kmh and 27kmh and the truck
between 33kmh and 44kmh when it braked, so it was not a
high-speed crash.
Wrong side
An Italian tourist may have "reverted
back" to driving on the right-hand side of the road before
his van collided with a stock truck at the Katiki overbridge
on State Highway 1 about 2.05pm on May 11, Senior Constable
Darrin Lowe, Hampden, told the coroner.
Mr Crerar found Francesco Salvan (31), of Padova, Italy, died
from injuries he received in the crash when he allowed his
vehicle to cross the centre line to the incorrect side of the
road.
He said truck driver Christopher John Ross, of Rotorua, had
his vehicle as far as possible to the left-hand side of the
road and was in no way responsible for the crash nor the
death of Mr Salvan.
Mr Ross said he was travelling in the north-bound lane when
he saw a Nissan Serena van coming towards him on the wrong
side of the road.
He tried to move his truck as far to the left as possible,
but could not avoid a head-on collision with the van.
The front of the van was pushed about 1.1m back and Dunedin
serious crash unit investigator Senior Constable Trevor
Buchanan said the impact would have been like running into a
solid brick wall, then bouncing off it.
Snr Const Lowe said Mr Salvan was driving on the incorrect
side of the road, for some unknown reason.
"He may have reverted back to driving on the right, as in
Italy."
Mr Salvan was on holiday in New Zealand.
He had been fruit-picking in Central Otago and Marlborough
before the crash
