A food truck was heavier than the maximum weight the vehicle pulling it was capable of towing, leading to a crash. Photo / Babiche Martens
A chef knew his van could not safely tow his food cart but he chose to do it anyway – while his unrestrained children were asleep on mattresses in the back.
What happened next left two people seriously injured.
Hayato Iseri was travelling north on Junction Rd in New Plymouth about 11.15pm on December 22 last year after a day working in Stratford.
Attached to the back of his Toyota Hiace was a large braked tandem-axle trailer that weighed 1830kg. The downwards weight on the tow ball was 190kg.
But the 37-year-old’s towbar was capable of pulling a maximum weight of 1400kg and a downward weight of no more than 50kg.
Despite this, Iseri, a chef from Osaka, Japan, had four passengers in his van, three of whom were family members.
According to the police summary of facts, his two young children were asleep in the rear of the vehicle on mattresses when their father’s trailer began swaying from side to side as he drove downhill at 60km/h in a 100km/h zone.
He lost control of the van and crossed the centreline, crashing into a car travelling in the opposite direction. Both vehicles sustained extensive damage.
The children and the other family member in the van suffered minor injuries, while the front-seat passenger fractured his spine and was taken to hospital.
The driver of the other vehicle suffered fractures to her wrist and toe, injuries to her knee and a severe injury to her pelvis, which required hospital treatment.
A vehicle inspection confirmed the trailer was 430kg heavier than the towbar’s maximum capacity and the downward weight exceeded its limit by 140kg.
When speaking to police, Iseri acknowledged he had been told the van was too small to tow the trailer safely.
He appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday after having previously admitted two charges of careless vehicle operation causing injury.
He stood in the dock before Community Magistrate Carla na Nagara with a Japanese interpreter at his side.
She convicted Iseri on the charges and said the lives of the seriously injured victims had been “very disrupted” physically and emotionally.
While she accepted Iseri was driving slowly and carefully at the time of the crash, she said his carelessness related to his failure to ensure he knew the weight ratings of his towbar.
According to a restorative justice report provided to the court, he had made his own calculations.
“You are not entitled to guess. You have to make sure you know for certain what the weight rating is and whether your caravan complies,” na Nagara said.
“I consider that to be moderate carelessness.”
Iseri accepted his guilt, had no previous convictions, was remorseful and had attended restorative justice where he accepted responsibility for his actions.
“And I acknowledge that the incident has had a big impact on you and your family and also your business,” na Nagara told him.
She disqualified him from driving for six months and ordered him to pay $500 to both of the seriously injured victims.
The goods were stashed across lockups, homes, businesses and a shipping container.