Experts pore over truck's killer driveshaft

By SCOTT INGLIS

Police and experts hope to have a better idea today why a truck's driveshaft shattered, killing a young father on the Southern Motorway.

Eddie Tavinor, aged 32, died instantly on Monday morning when the knuckle of the universal joint bounced over the median strip and through his ute windscreen.

Engineers yesterday pored over the three-year-old Mitsubishi truck. They refused to speculate but loose bolts and failed welding are known to be among the causes of driveshaft failures.

Meanwhile, Mr Tavinor's devastated family and friends gathered at the Pukekohe home he shared with partner Michelle and their two children.

The family have requested privacy.

Richard Goble, who had known Mr Tavinor since primary school, said family and friends were struggling to come to terms with his death.

"He was a great guy ... The real tragedy is that he's leaving behind a wife and young children."

Steve Lines, the owner of the panelbeating business where Michelle works, told the Herald that one of the other cars damaged in the accident had been brought into his shop to be repaired.

He said he had known Eddie and Michelle for five years - a happy couple looking forward to the birth of their third child.

The officer leading the crash investigation, Senior Constable Stu Kearns, said police had yet to pinpoint a cause but had some early theories. He refused to reveal them.

The truck's roadworthiness and maintenance records were being examined. "We're looking at all those factors."

It was too early to say whether other trucks might have a similar problem or if it was confined to the one vehicle.

The truck, a FV393H model, was carrying a general goods container at the time and was travelling at its maximum of about 90 km/h, but speed and excessive load were not factors. It had a current certificate of fitness and was due for retesting next week.

Police did not believe the truck had been modified.

Senior Constable Kearns said the engineers and testing of parts should pinpoint an exact cause. He did not know how long that might take.

Mitsubishi Motors' New Zealand managing director, John Leighton, said last night that the company's own engineers had examined the truck without touching it.

"They could not see any obvious cause for the terrible tragedy that happened.

"At this stage ... we simply don't know. There's a number of possible causes, but we're not in a position to speculate."

The truck had been regularly serviced, he said.

Its drive train was an Eaton Fuller-Spicer, one of the most commonly used in New Zealand trucks.

"Both of those companies are huge worldwide operations, and there's absolutely no concern about their integrity. We're not talking here about copy parts."

Mr Leighton did not know of any similar accident involving Mitsubishi trucks and he had not issued any recall orders.

The accident was of major concern to Mitsubishi and it wanted to know what happened, he said.

A spokesman for Container Swinglift Services said police had advised him not to talk to the media. He confirmed that the truck driver was back at work.

Andrew Findlay, manager of MGE Engineering in Auckland, said his company dealt with a broken truck driveshaft on average every two months.

A driveshaft failure in August caused an injury accident in the Tasman region, he said.

Two fatal and 13 injury accidents involving truck bodies or chassis faults had occurred in the past five years.