Manslaughter Charge After Camp Deaths

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32214, 5 February 1970, Page 24

Manslaughter Charge After Camp Deaths

(New Zealand Press Association) WHAKATANE, February 4. Barry Grump, an author, and a professional guide, George Johnston, pleaded riot guilty today to the charge of manslaughter of a 13-year-old boy who drowned when a utility vehicle ran off a road into Lake Matahina.

Both men, who were running an adventure camp near Whakatane when the boy died, were charged with the death of Timothy John Dyas James, one of five boys who drowned in the lake on the night of September 4.

Cramp, aged 34, and Johnston, aged 31, originally faced five man-

slaughter charges when they appeared before Mr W. M. Willis, S.M., in the Whakatane Magistrate’s Court this afternoon.

But the Crown Prosecutor told the Court that in accord with modern practice it would proceed with only one manslaughter charge as it had; only to establish responsibility for the event—irrespec-| tive of how many died. The defence agreed to the amend-' ment

Crump and Johnston were’ alleged to have undertaken at I Temahoe the responsibility] for the care and safety of I David Stratton Izard, aged 13,! Emrys Tangiora, aged 12, | Timothy John Dyas James,; aged 13, Stephen Murray] Seay, aged 13 and Murray] Richard Rodgers, aged 14. | No Licence Johnston was also charged that on September 4 at Temahoe he operated a vehicle which did not carry a current warrant of fitness and that he allowed it to be driven on the road by a person not holding a driver’s licence. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. At the lower Court hearing] 22 witnesses have been called, i The Crown Prosecutor is] Mr T. M. Thorpe, of Gisborne,; and the defence counsel for both Crump and Johnston is] Mr D. B. Pain, of Auckland, assisted by Mr L. H. Moore. Photographs of the vehicle] and the road marks on the] road were produced by Constable F. J. Theunissen, police] photographer at Rotorua. He said that a mark on the road ran toward the bank and it then disappeared but reappeared down the bank,; where some rocks were dis-1 turbed.

To Mr Pain, Constable; Theunissen said that there was a short gap between the; end of the mark on the road and the beginning of the mark down the bank, and the gap would be about four feet Locality Plan A plan of the locality was] produced by Kevin Russell Locke, a surveyor employed by the Lands and Survey Department, Rotorua. The average width of the usable part of the road was 18 feet. The road was about 14 feet above the level of the lake when he made his survey. To Mr Moore, the witness

said that the narrowest usable part of the road was 17 feet. That was where the road crossed a culvert.

Traffic Officer M. D. Hinton, stationed at Kawerau, said that on August 27,1969, Barry Lett, then a student, applied [for a driver’s licence for a private motor-car. Mr Hinton produced an application form filled in by Barry Lett, on which his date of birth was shown as July 26, 1953. Mr Hinton produced a birth certificate showing that the boy was bom on July 26, 1954. Written Test

He said that Barry Lett was required to pass a written test, an oral test, and a practical driving test. He passed the written test but failed the oral test He returned on September 2, but again failed the oral test. He returned on September [lO and passed all three tests “As far as I remember, his I driving in the practical test ] was average,” said Mr Hinton. I The minimum age for a licence to drive a private car was 15 years, and for a licence to drive a passenger vehicle 21 years, he said. To Mr Pain, Mr Hinton said that Barry Lett’s licence entitled him to drive a utility vehicle provided the weight of the vehicle and load did not exceed two tons and a half.

He could carry passengers in it provided they were not fare-paying and not carried for hire or reward. John McGuigan, a vehicle inspector employed by the Transport Department, said he examined the vehicle on September 10. No Defect

He did not find any defect in it that could cause it to drive off the road or contribute to its doing so. To Mr Pain, the witness said that the vehicle was three years old and generally in good condition. Constable R. B. Gaskill, of Edgecumbe, said that he re-

ceived a call from Temahoe village at 11.30 p.m. on Thursday, September 4. He notified the police at Kawerau and Whakatane. and arrived at Temahoe about midnight At a house there, he talked with Barry Lett, Lawrence Hamilton and Mark or Alan Seay.

He then drove to the site of the accident at 15 miles an hour, with his headlights on full beam. If there had been any pothole in the road or any obstruction on it, he would have seen it. He saw nothing to show that the vehicle had run off the road and returned to Temahoe. Mark Seay then accompanied him and showed him where the accident had happened. He could find nothing on the road to cause the car to run off. Clear Night The night was clear and visibility was good. The lake was calm. While the police were waiting for a diver, the defendant Johnston arrived from the direction of Te Teko and asked what had happened. Constable Gaskill said. Constable Gaskill told him that the survivors said that the vehicle hit a pothole and ran off the road and that five boys were still in it. Johnston asked if a boat could be useful and on being told that it would be, departed in the direction of Te Teko. He returned with a jet boat on a trailer and launched it. Meanwhile, a diver had arrived and recovered the boys’ bodies. Mobile Crane I The vehicle was lifted out iof the water by a mobile crane about 5 a.m. Constable Gaskill said that he took a rifle from the rear compartment of the vehicle. He nad no difficulty in opening the back door to get it On September 5, the catch on the rear door of the vehicle was removed and sent to the D.5.1.R., Auckland, for examination.

Cross-examined, Constable Gaskill said that where he measured the width of the road, it was 23 feeL This was immediately before the point at which the vehicle plunged into the lake.