The death of a young father, who was decapitated by a flying truck part on an Auckland motorway 17 years ago, is being re-examined in a rare second inquest.
John Edward "Eddie" Tavinor was driving his ute north on Auckland's Southern Motorway, near Penrose, in November 2000 when the part from an oncoming Mitsubishi truck's drivetrain broke free and flew like a missile through his windscreen, according to a witness report at the time.
The truck was driving in a south-bound lane.
Three witnesses at a coronial inquest held two years after Tavinor's death agreed the drivetrain's failure was caused by a bearing failure.
Coroner Murray Jamieson's 2003 report said mechanics servicing the truck had critically failed to notice the drivetrain was worn and unsafe and had also failed to follow correct procedure when reinstalling it.