KEY POINTS:
Kiwi Experience tour bus driver Nathan John Hislop fell from his seat when reaching for a pen, causing his bus to plunge down a bank, injuring 10 passengers, a court was told today.
Christchurch District Court Judge Noel Walsh said contrary to local gossip and speculation, Hislop, 32, had not been drinking nor using a cellphone when the crash occurred in the Fox Hills, South Westland, on April 21 last year.
Hislop, who pleaded guilty to 10 charges of careless driving causing injury, had been blood-tested after the crash and no alcohol was detected in his system.
Hislop was not using a cellphone either, but he admitted he fell out of his seat causing the tour bus to swerve when he reached for a pen that had fallen from the dashboard.
The crash happened on a narrow and winding piece of road with steep drop-offs, between Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. The bus swerved across the centre line and plunged 40m down a bank into the bush.
Of the 43 passengers on board 21 were treated for injuries at Fox Glacier. Ten had moderate injuries including cuts, a broken rib, sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder, a broken nose, whiplash, and a broken wrist. They were visiting New Zealand from all over the world.
Defence lawyer Pip Hall said Hislop, who comes from rural South Otago, had been driving buses for 10 years and covered at least half a million kilometres without any accidents.
He had no criminal or driving convictions at all, and was known as a competent, careful and professional coach driver.
He had now stopped coach driving and had taken a job in an administrative role in another company. None of the passengers had long-lasting injuries from the crash, and Hislop was among the injured.
Judge Walsh said Hislop could not explain to the police why he had reached for the pen, but he had co-operated fully with the inquiry.
He had written letters of sincere apology with an offer of help to all 43 passengers on the bus, and had paid $2802 to the court to meet reparation claims, even though Judge Walsh commented that he might have been able to contest some of them.
The judge also noted that Kiwi Experience had "gone the extra mile" to ensure passengers' claims were met.
"You are a decent and worthy, law-abiding young New Zealander who, after a moment's lapse in concentration in your role as a professional coach driver, lost control of the bus and potentially endangered the lives and safety of 43 passengers," the judge told him.
"It is now time for you to get on with your life."
He made a formal order for Hislop to pay the $2802 reparations, and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.
- NZPA
