Driver inattention blamed for fatal crash

A moment's inattention by a truck driver was the main cause of a horror crash, which claimed the lives of two Spanish tourists and badly injured a toddler, a coroner has found.

Joan Roma-Serra and Eva Fajula-Rovira, both 34, had been enjoying the final days of a holiday in New Zealand when their campervan and an 84-tonne truck collided head-on on State Highway 1 near Towai on December 22, 2009. They had been due to fly home on Christmas Eve.

Northland Coroner Brandt Shortland said the Spanish tourists were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and didn't stand a chance.

They were caught between a bank and the jack-knifing truck as it slid towards them at 90km/h, lifting their van and shunting it backwards into a ditch.

A ute which had been following the van swerved but struck the rear of the Linfox truck and trailer, ripping off the canopy and badly injuring a 2-year-old boy.

The toddler and his mother were "extremely lucky" to be alive, but the boy required ongoing treatment for his injuries.

The truck driver, Ioane Etuale of Auckland, was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death and one of careless driving causing injury, but was found not guilty in the Kaikohe District Court last year.

In findings released this week, however, Mr Shortland ruled the truck had lost control as a direct result of driver error.

"The facts further infer that Mr Etuale was inattentive for a moment of time and once the truck's brakes locked up, sending the truck and trailer into a slide, it was impossible to retract and rectify ... The Spanish tourists were powerless to change their course ... They could not have avoided this unfolding situation as their options to take evasive action were zero," Mr Shortland said.

A 30m section of the southbound lane where Mr Etuale lost control was in poor condition with a pattern of ruts and corrugations known as "crocodile cracking". It was known for being difficult to handle, especially for an unladen truck like the one Mr Etuale was driving. "Uneven surface" signs were erected the next day and the highway was later repaired.

Expert witnesses told the inquest the rough stretch of road could catch drivers unaware, but with common sense and care it should not have posed any great difficulties.

Mr Etuale did not attend the inquest and could not be found by police, but had earlier told the Kaikohe District Court that the truck's steering wheel had suddenly started shaking and he had heard something snap before losing control.

However, Mr Shortland could find nothing to back up Mr Etuale's claims.

While the trailer was not up to certificate of fitness standard, no mechanical faults with the truck's steering or brakes had been found which could have contributed to the crash, despite detailed investigations.