Truck repairer fined after wheel fatality

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A truck repair company has been fined and ordered to pay reparations after wheels fixed on a vehicle by an unqualified worker came off and killed a tourist.

The truck, which had been recently serviced by Counties Automotive Diesel Repairs Ltd, was travelling on Auckland's southern motorway when two of its wheels came loose on January 14.

One bounced across the motorway into oncoming lanes before smashing through the windscreen of a bus heading north.

Vietnamese tourist Xuan Lam, who was sitting in the front seat of the bus, was struck him in the head. He was taken to hospital but later died from his injuries.

A Pukekohe District Court today ordered Counties Automotive Diesel Repairs Ltd to pay $5000 in fines and $68,582 in reparations over the death.

It noted a Department of Labour (DOL) investigation which found an employee with no formal motor mechanic qualifications had removed the left rear wheels of the truck while fixing the guard just days before the accident.

The employee had failed to tighten the wheel nuts properly after the repair work.

Manukau Service Manager for the DOL Craig White said the accident was preventable and unneccessary.

The company should have had formal written procedures in place to let customers know their truck wheels had been removed and refitted - and should have reminded them to have the wheel nuts checked before it travelled the next 150 kilometres, he said.

"This was a horrific accident in which a man lost his life while simply travelling on a bus on Auckland's motorway. The saddest thing is that the accident could very easily have been prevented.

"Employers and people in control of workplaces must realise that they have a responsibility to take all practicable steps to make sure that the actions or inactions of their employees don't cause harm.

"In this instance it would have meant having a formal written check list in place, ensuring appropriate sign off procedures were in place, regularly supervising their employee's work and ensuring that equipment used was in good working order."

Counties Automotive Diesel Repairs Ltd was convicted on one charge under Section 15 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

The sections states that employers should take "all practicable steps" to make sure no action or inaction from its employees harms another person.