By Phil Pennington of RNZ
Major roadworks company Fulton Hogan has been charged after a roadworker was killed by a speeding truck while moving road cones.
Brian Barnes was struck at a repair site on State Highway 23 near Hamilton in February 2023.
Truck driver Michael Stacy was sentenced last month for careless driving causing death over the incident.
WorkSafe has charged Fulton Hogan, as the main contractor, under three sections of health and safety law alleging “their failures exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury from moving vehicles”.
It laid similar charges against Auckland company Independent Traffic Control Ltd in February, within the 12-month window WorkSafe has to investigate and file charges.
According to court reports, investigators found the truck’s brakes were well below standard - service brakes at 33 per cent capacity and parking brake at 15 per cent - and it was doing almost 60km/h in a 30km/h zone.
Barnes’ daughter told the court at the sentencing that her father had previously spoken about his fear of being hit due to the number of trucks that sped through work sites.
“Our investigation looked into the truck and its maintenance, but we are unable to comment further on those specifics while the case is before the court,” WorkSafe said in a statement to RNZ.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said it had not looked into whether this or other trucks posed ongoing risks to motorists. WorkSafe and police were leading the investigations, it said.
“While NZTA has not been involved in these investigations, we work closely with both agencies, will assist where requested, and will review the findings of the investigation to understand if any further regulatory action, or wider system review, is appropriate,” it said in a statement.
The truck was working within a Waka Kotahi maintenance project, carting fill out of a closed section of the state highway when it hit the man, it said.
Fulton Hogan told a court it took action to make its worksite sites safer after pleading guilty on health and safety charges over a roadworker killed by a runaway truck five years ago, after when its handbrake failed in Ngauranga Gorge, near Wellington.
RNZ has asked Independent Traffic Control for comment. Fulton Hogan declined to comment.
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