[ad_1]
Five months before an accident claimed the lives of two people, a Google Street View car passed through the intersection.
Screenshots from April 2019 reveal that the stop sign on Church Rd West is almost completely covered in foliage, which can be attributed to the deaths, a judge said.
Dunedin City Council is responsible for clearing the vegetation from the traffic signs and then made the stop sign move 40 centimeters closer to the road. He was not in a position to comment on the matter, a spokesman said.
Jayde Amy Cummings, 15, of Mosgiel, and Steve Macnee, 57, of Waihola, were killed when their vehicles collided at the intersection with Huntly Rd, Outram, near Dunedin, on September 17, 2019.
READ MORE:
* Taranaki’s second road death in a week triggers a police warning
* ‘Tragedies like this send waves to the community’ – police
* Truck and tractor driver dies in double fatal Otago
A third person, a Ute driver who was 17 at the time, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Dunedin Hospital.
The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared in Dunedin Juvenile Court in late October, where the issue of foliage covering the stop sign was raised.
Google Street View / supplied
A close-up shows the foliage cover stop sign on Church Rd West in April 2019, months before two people were killed in an accident.
Foliage was a key factor in Judge Dominic Flatley’s judgment, obtained by Things.
It was indisputable that the stop sign was obscured by foliage – it was too close to the fence line and the foliage had not been trimmed.
Judge Flatley questioned why police did not photograph the signs the night of the accident, as the foliage appeared to have been significantly trimmed the next day.
Hamish Mcneilly / Stuff
A stop sign partially obscured by vegetation, and near a double fatality crash site, taken a day later.
A photo taken by Things after the crash showed foliage had been trimmed around the sign.
But who trimmed that foliage remains a mystery: The work wasn’t done by homeowners or contractors.
Flatley said he had a hard time reconciling the foliage covering the sign with photos of the police and one of the accident scene taken by the Otago Daily Times.
The newspaper photo showed the sign to be “well hidden” by foliage. The photo was taken from the right side of the road, which means the sign would have seemed almost completely covered to the inexperienced driver.
“It seems to me, and very clearly, that some trimming work has been done between the time of the accident and the next day,” said the judge.
That means all other photos taken after the accident were potentially tainted evidence, he said.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
Two people died at the crash site near Outram on September 17, 2019.
The case was heard in Dunedin Juvenile Court in late October where the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared on two charges of dangerous driving resulting in death.
The teen, with Cummings in the passenger seat, was driving his new ute down Church Rd West. At the same time, Macnee was driving down Huntly Rd.
Flatley noted that the young driver, who was represented by Anne Stevens QC, was not affected by drugs or alcohol, and there were no mechanical problems with the vehicle.
The young man, however, did not stop.
While he admitted he was driving recklessly (he had a restricted license and Cummings was not a qualified passenger), the judge had to consider whether driving was dangerous.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
The scene of an accident where two people died near Outram.
The teenager suffered memory loss and the judge had to reconstruct what happened.
Police also had to find out what happened in the days after the accident, and a senior officer recounted Things that such tragedies “send ripples to the community.”
Police also allayed concerns that foliage may have obscured stop signs on Church Rd West.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
The Church Rd West sign was knocked down in the accident.
Judge Flatley said there was evidence that the ability to see a signal directly affected the driver’s response.
The driver’s speed was not excessive and there were no tire marks to indicate sudden braking or skidding.
Judge Flatley also noted that the signs were too small for an area of 100 km / h, with a surface area 78 percent smaller than recommended.
He could not be sure that the young man was driving dangerously, saying that “there are other possibilities and explanations for what happened.”
Supplied / Facebook
Steve Macnee was killed in a double car accident in Outram Township in Otago.
His best evidence was the Otago Daily Times’ photography, and although he accepted that the images could be distorted, it showed that the sign on the left was obscured.
Three witnesses described the intersection as dangerous, even for experienced drivers.
“It was possible that the sign he was looking for was hidden and for all the other reasons it was hard to see and he didn’t see it until it was too late,” Flatley said.
The charges were reduced from dangerous driving to careless driving and resulted in death.
The Cummings and Macnee families have been contacted for comment.
