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A stop sign partially hidden by foliage may have contributed to an accident that left two people dead.
Jayde Amy Cummings, 15, of Mosgiel, and Steve Macnee, 57, of Waihola, were killed at the intersection of Church Rd West and Huntly Rd, Outram, near Dunedin, on September 17, 2019.
A third person, a Ute driver who was 17 at the time, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Dunedin Hospital.
Police were still trying to piece together what happened in the days after the accident, and a senior officer said Things that such tragedies “send ripples to the community.”
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Police also allayed concerns that foliage may have obscured stop signs on Church Rd West.
But that concern was a key factor in a judgment about the driver, obtained by Things.
A 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.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
Two people died at the crash site near Outram on September 17, 2019.
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.
Judge Dominic Flatley’s ruling stated that the young driver was not affected by drugs or alcohol, and that 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.
The teenager suffered memory loss and the judge had to reconstruct what happened.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
The scene of an accident where two people died near Outram.
That was centered around a stop sign on the left at the intersection.
It was “universally accepted that it was obscured by foliage” and near the fence of a residential property, the judge said.
After the accident, Dunedin City Council contractors brought the sign up to 40 cm (16 inches) from the road.
A local farmer testified and described the area as an accident waiting to happen due to poor visibility of the signs.
Judge Flatley asked why the police did not take a photo of the scene from the night in question, the police photos were taken the next day.
Instead, a lonely picture, taken by a Otago Daily Times (ODT) photographer, became the crucial piece of evidence.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
The Church Rd West sign was knocked down in the accident.
That photo showed the sign ” well hidden ” by foliage, with the photo taken from the right side of the road, meaning it may have been nearly covered for the inexperienced driver.
It also became clear that the foliage had been cut down in the days after the accident, but it was unclear who did it.
“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.
Supplied / Facebook
Steve Macnee was killed in a double car accident in Outram Township in Otago.
His best evidence was the ODT photography, and although he accepted that the images could be distorted, it showed the sign on the left obscured.
The young driver was also driving at less than 62 km / h and may have slowed down due to an earlier stop warning sign.
Three witnesses described the intersection as dangerous, even for experienced drivers.
Flatley also noted that the signs were too small for a 100 km / h area, with a surface area 78 percent smaller than recommended.
He could not be sure that the young man had been driving dangerously, saying that “there are other possibilities and explanations for what happened.”
Police had no comment.
A Dunedin City Council spokesperson confirmed that the authority was responsible for clearing the vegetation around the traffic signs, but could not “comment further at this stage.”
The Cummings and Macnee families have also been contacted.
