Council reviewing Coroner’s findings

Christchurch City Council is reviewing the Coroner’s findings on a Harewood crash.

The Coroner’s Findings on the fatal collision between a car and a truck and trailer unit at the corner of Logistics Drive and Sawyers Arms Road in January 2018 were released this week. The accident claimed the life of 83-year-old Colleen Case.

The Coroner has found that inattention on the part of Mrs Case was the likely cause of the accident. She failed to stop at a compulsory stop sign.

The line markings at the intersection were faded at the time of the accident. The Coroner found that the extent to which the road markings or the general appearance of the intersection contributed to the crash cannot be established with any degree of certainty.

The Coroner recommended that the Council and its contractor City Care review processes around prioritising road marking.

Council City Services General Manager David Adamson says the Council  is continually reviewing its processes and has reinforced its expectations to all of its road maintenance contractors that any concerns about safety-related road markings must be responded to with urgency.

“We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Case’s family. We take any road crashes in the district very seriously and are committed to doing all we can to ensure the safety of all road users,” Mr Adamson says.

“We will now thoroughly review the Coroner’s findings to ensure our practices and processes are aligned with the recommendations made.”