$120,000 in fines, reparation after escaped horses kill driver

A woman whose husband was killed when two racehorses bolted from Palmerston North's Awapuni racecourse says the $60,000 fine imposed on the track operators was not harsh enough.

Chris Nicols, 61, of Feilding, died when one horse hit and ploughed through the windscreen of his car while he was on his way to work before dawn in June 2007.

The other horse hit another car, but the driver was not injured.

Racing at Awapuni (Race) was found guilty at Palmerston North District Court this year of breaching health and safety standards.

In a judgment released yesterday, the court fined Race $60,000 reparation and ordered it to pay the Nicols family for emotional harm, The Manawatu Standard reported.

"Is that all?" widow Robyn Nicols' asked after hearing the amount of the fine.

"I don't think the fine is enough."

Race chief executive Matt Reid said the incident was a tragic accident and the group had taken practical steps to avoid a repeat.

Mrs Nicols said the impact of her husband's death had been ongoing.

The accident would not have happened if the work Race had completed since had been done before, she said.

"It was pretty obvious that they were guilty of not having done enough."

In his sentencing notes Judge David Holderness said the hazard was "obvious", particularly after horses escaped less than a year earlier.

He also criticised Race for "a somewhat dismissive attitude to the need for management of the obvious hazard".

- NZPA