Sunstrike cause of rental van crash

A visitor from China crashed his rental van, injuring all six passengers, at Kumara just hours after arriving in the country.

In the Greymouth District Court today, Jianwen Lu, 62, was fined $2400 and disqualified from driving for six months after he admitted a charge of careless driving causing injury to six passengers, who were friends and family, on January 6.

Police prosecutor Steven Greer said the visitors had hired a van soon after arriving at Christchurch Airport and then drove to the West Coast.

As Lu travelled along Seddon Street, Kumara, he was blinded by the sun and crashed into a concrete power pole.

The passengers suffered a variety of injuries ranging from broken bones to a perforated bowel, which required surgery.

Judge Paul Kellar, speaking through an interpreter, told Lu that he accepted he was a man of impeccable character who had been caught out by the weather conditions.

The judge said rental car companies could do better when it came to preparing visitors for conditions that might arise on their New Zealand journeys.

- The Greymouth Star