‘Cyclist was doing 60km/h’

Press, 19 April 1989, Page 15

‘Cyclist was doing 60km/h’

Reconstructions of an accident in which a cyclist died when he hit a vehicle at the intersection of Dyers Pass Road and Governor’s • Bay Road showed that he was travelling at least 60km the Coroner’s Court was told yesterday. Traffic Officer Michael Phillips was giving evidence into the death of David Lloyd Preston, aged 19, who died when he hit a utility truck about 4 p.m. on December 17. Mr Preston and a friend, Michael Young, had been cycling on the Port Hills and had travelled down the hill towards Governor’s Bay. Mr Young had warned his friend to take it easy, but he went faster down the hill than Mr Young and out of his sight. They were not wearing helmets.

Traffic Officer Phillips said the driver of the utility, Miss Jan Rattray, was travelling towards Lyttelton on the bottom road. She estimated her speed through the intersection at 20km/h, because of roadworks in the area.

She saw no approaching traffic until she was almost through the intersection when she saw the cyclist then almost immediately heard the impact. . _

Traffic Officer Phillips said that an automotive surveyor found no faults with either the truck or Mr Preston’s bicycle which could have contributed to the crash. Reconstructions confirmed that his speed had been not less than 60km/h. Cross-examined by Mr John Callaghan, representing Mr Preston’s parents, Traffic Officer Phillips agreed that Mr Preston did not face a sharp turn if he was continuing on to Governor’s Bay. He agreed Mr Preston did not have a lot of time for evasive action, although he would have had to deviate only half a metre to miss the truck.

Mr Peter Johnston, a psychologist, gave evidence of having counselled Mr Preston since July. He had been

“despondent but not depressed.” He was frustrated with his life, and had employment problems.

Informed by Mr Callaghan that Mr Preston had recently been training for a triathlon and had the prospect of a job, Mr Johnston agreed that he would have been “quite optimistic” at the time of the accident. The Coroner, Mr Neil Mac Lean, suppressed much of Mr Johnston’s evidence after a submission from Mr Callaghan. He found that Mr Preston died of multiple injuries sustained when he was unable to stop the cycle he was riding and avoid the vehicle. There was nothing the driver of the utility could have done to avoid the crash. DROWNED IN CAR The Coroner declined a request to suppress some of the evidence into the. death of Alistair William Beere, aged 21, who, he found, drowned in a ditch after crashing a car on his way home from a party. Mr John BrandtsGiesen, appearing for Mr Beere’s parents, had sought suppression of evidence that his friends had warned him not to drive, saying it was not relevant to the cause of death. The Coroner said that he hoped others might make use of the circumstances and realise that such advice was worth taking. Traffic Officer David Fuller told the Court that Mr Beere had been at a party in Lincoln on January 7, and had driven away intoxicated about 9.30 p.m., in spite of efforts by- his friends to dissuade him. Two days later, his car was found upside down in a deep ditch partly filled with water, near the intersection of Hudsons Road and Ellesmere Road. A pathologist, Dr Leonard Treadgold, said a post-mortem examination showed that Mr Beere had 194 mg of alcohol to 100 ml of blood, and the cause of death_ was asphyxia due to drowning.

HEART ATTACK The Coroner ruled that a restaurant doorman who collapsed and died after a scuffle with a thief, died of natural causes. Rudy Loenen, aged 46, died about 3 a.m. on January 20 at the Shangri-La Restaurant in Kilmore Street, while giving a statement to the police about the incident with the thief about 40 minutes earlier. Dr Treadgold said that the cause of death was acute heart failure due to marked atherosclerosis. Constable Ross Wylde told the Court that Mr Loenen was working at the restaurant as a doorman when he saw a patron stealing liquor and eggs. Eggs were thrown at Mr Loenen in the ensuing struggle. Mr Loenen collapsed while speaking with the police and resuscitation efforts failed.

A full police investigation revealed that the assault had been minor, involving only hair-pulling and grappling, and was not considered to have contributed to his death, Constable Wylde said. After a post-mortem examination, the police were satisfied that Mr Loenen died of natural causes.

Constable Wylde said that Craig Patrick Thomas Norton was later convicted of theft, escaping from custody, and resisting arrest and was fined $lOO on each charge. Asked by Mr Bryan Wolfe, representing Mr Loenen’s estate, why assault charges were not also laid, Constable Wylde said that the C. 1.8. had taken the file to consider more serious charges. When that was decided against, the file was returned to him but he was then on leave. By the time Constable Wylde saw the file again, Norton had been dealt with on the other charges. The Coroner said that he was sympathetic to the layman’s view that there must have been a connection, but the medical evidence was quite clear. MYSTERY CRASH The Court heard that

there was no identifiable cause for a motor accident which claimed the life of Mrs Leon Rozyle Stenhouse, aged 56.

The Coroner ruled that she died on January 15 of multiple injuries sustained whhen the car she was driving hit a pole.

Traffic Officer Paul Stewart said that the accident happened about 2.30 p.m. on the Old West Coast Road, when the car veered across the road for no apparent reason. It snapped the pole off at the base, flipped end for end and skidded upside down into a gorse hedge. The first person at the scene dragged Mrs Stenhouse from the car. At that stage she was still alive and asked what had happened. She was taken by ambulance to the intensive care unit of Christchurch Hospital, where she died about 6 p.m.

Traffic Officer Stewart said there were no independent witnesses. The road was dry and clearly marked with a centre line, and the seal was in good order. There were no skid marks, and no suggestion of another vehicle being involved. An automotive surveyor could find no fault with Mrs Stenhouse’s car, and a pathologist’s report made no suggestion of a collapse before the accident. Dr Leonard Treadgold said that, in his opinion, the cause of death was multiple injuries. PASSENGER KILLED Robert Bruce Barnes, aged 20, died when the car in which he was a passenger went out of control and hit a pole beside Marshland Road on July 16, the Coroner ruled. Traffic Sergeant Jeffery Kay told the Court that Mark Christopher Murray, aged 19, was driving the car about 90km/h, when he lost control on a moderate left-hand bend near Guthries Road. The car skidded across shingle and grass into the pole. Mr Barnes died at the scene. The cause of death was multiple injuries.