IPCA report: Body left on side of Waitomo road for hours after miscoded 111 call

A fatal hit-and-run victim’s body was left on the grass verge along State Highway 30 for hours after police delayed responding to an emergency 111 call, an Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation has found.

The police watchdog’s investigation report, released today, said the victim was walking along the road in the early hours of January 4, 2023 when he was struck by a car.

The impact killed the victim instantly and smashed the car’s windscreen.

The driver did not stop. Instead, he drove to his mother’s Benneydale address and told her he had “hit something on the road, possibly a person”.

The driver’s mother and partner drove along SH30 but did not find anything, then called 111 at 3am.

Police did not attend the call until 8am the next morning. The victim’s body was found almost half an hour later “after several sweeps of the highway”.

His family identified his remains at the scene later that day, before the body was removed from the side of the road.

Benneydale is a small town south of Te Kuiti. Small towns story for James Ihaka. 09 September 2012 New Zealand Herald Photography by Christine Cornege.

An investigation was launched after the victim’s family complained to police.

“[They were] angry that [the victim] may have been laying injured,” the authority’s report said.

In its investigation, the authority found police incorrectly coded the 111 call as a priority two event.

“[Police] gave due consideration to the information they had before them and made a decision,” the report said.

“Although made in good faith, we think that decision was an error in judgement.”

The authority’s investigation also found police did not arrange victim support for the dead man’s mother and siblings until weeks after the incident, at their request.

“We think this was an unfortunate oversight,” the report said.

“Police should have considered more widely the provision of victim support to the family.”

A police statement responding to the authority’s findings noted a pathologist’s advice was that the man would have died instantly and any medical intervention would not have prevented his death.

Waikato police commander Superintendent Bruce Bird. Photo / Alan Gibson

Waikato District Commander superintendent Bruce Bird said an internal police review of the response to the emergency call found the matter should have been coded as a priority one event

“Police should have been dispatched to attend at the time of the call,” Bird said.

“We recognise that while responding at the time sadly may not have changed the outcome, it was a shortcoming in our response.

“Our condolences remain with the man’s family.”

Bird said the officers involved have been spoken to, and the broader lessons learned have been built into current processes.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.