Judge discharges accused

Press, 13 November 1981, Page 4

Judge discharges accused

PA Invercargill Two New Zealand Railways employees were discharged in the High Court at Invercargill yesterday on charges of manslaughter. The charges had been laid against John Basil Manson, of Invercargill, and Ronald Alan Hansen, of Balclutha, after a fatal accident at the Lindisfarne level-crossing on March 16. A school bus and a mobile track unit collided and Michelle Anne Brown, aged 11, of Otatara, a passenger in the bus, was killed. Manson and Hansen were subsequently charged with manslaughter in that they

failed to take.reasonable precautions while in charge of mobile track equipment and caused the death of the girl. They were committed to the High Court for trial after a depositions hearing in the District Court at Invercargill, last month. Yesterday, after an application heard on Monday, Mr Justice Cook ordered that no indictments be presented against the accused and that each should be discharged. In this case the Crown was required to prove beyond reasonable doubt no more than ordinary negligence, his Honour said. With this matter, if there was negligence it must have been in relation to excessive speed.

The crux was whether the accused followed certain procedures and took reasonable precautions to avoid danger. It seemed clear the track machines were slowed to a degree and horns were sounded at a considerable distance from the crossing, his Honour said. The lights of the leading machine were also on. There was no question of a lookout not being kept and the bus was seen from some distance. The brakes were applied so that the machines could stop if the bus did not, his Honour said. Even if the speed of the

track machines had earlier exceeded the regulations, he was unable to see how a jury could find that this was the cause of the accident. In these circumstances, he could not see a jury being satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that any failure on the part of the accused caused the death of the child. If the bus had stopped it must have started to move again when the machines were almost on the crossing. His Honour said he was satisfied that the proper course of action was for him to order that no indictments be presented against the accused. Each was discharged.