Motor-cyclist died after hitting parked truck

Press, 27 January 1988, Page 4

Motor-cyclist died after hitting parked truck

A motor-cyclist died from severe head injuries after hitting the rear of a unlit parked truck, the Coroner’s Court was told. Colin John Rowlands, aged 20, died in Christchurch Hospital on March 30, 1987. Constable James Bennie said Mr Rowlands was travelling east down Amyes Road, Hornby, at

11.40 p.m. on March 20 when he struck the right rear corner of a parked truck.

There were no lights on in the truck and it was not fitted with a red light on the rear.

A sample of Mr Rowlands blood had given a reading of 141 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The truck’s owner, Mr Dougal Patchett, was convicted in the District Court for careless use of a motor vehicle and failing to display a red light at the rear of a vehicle. The Coroner said the accident appeared to have been caused by a combination of the high alcohol level in Mr Rowland and the unlit truck.