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Medical evidence which exonerated a soldier facing charges over a fatal Unimog crash was challenged at the coroner's inquest in Marton District Court yesterday.
John Francis Eric Penney, 22, was driving the army Unimog 18 months ago when it crossed the centre line and slammed into a truck on State Highway 1, south of Hunterville, killing truck driver Shane Winiata Ratahi, 45 .
Penney was found not guilty of careless driving causing death and two counts of careless driving causing injury.
During last year's hearing Dr Richard Seemann disputed the prosecution's claim Penney had fallen asleep at the wheel. He found Penney suffered from postural hypotension and had suffered a "grey-out" at the time of the crash.
Dr Seemann referred to blood tests and Penney's claims he experienced amnesiac episodes and fainted after smoking cannabis.
Yesterday Dr Tim Maling, a specialist in blood pressure and pharmacology, told the court there was no history to suggest Penney experienced such episodes, The Manawatu Standard reports.
"Amnesia does not occur in acutely hypotensive individuals who are still conscious as in a `grey out'."
His own findings indicated Penney was in a state of micro-sleep while at the controls of the Unimog.
Dr Seemann wrote to the coroner saying he accepted Dr Maling's determination although he was not "100 per cent" certain it was accurate.
There had been no further reports of Penney fainting or falling into micro-sleep since the crash.
Edward Cox, lawyer for Mr Ratahi's family, said they were not interested in taking a private prosecution against Penney if the coroner ruled he had fallen asleep.
He said the family was seeking answers about what happened and simply wanted someone to accept accountability.
- NZPA
