A business owner has admitted to manslaughter after an unroadworthy 20-tonne truck he was driving rolled downhill and fatally struck a construction worker during roadworks in Auckland’s Remuera.
Ashik Ali, owner of Ashik Transport Ltd, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Downer employee Jonathan Walters, who died in hospital days after the May 2024 incident.
Ali had worked a 12-hour shift at another site before driving the Isuzu truck, which had previously been deemed unsafe and prohibited from use on public roads. The vehicle had failed multiple inspections, with authorities issuing infringement notices and declaring its brakes dangerous as recently as 2021.
According to the agreed summary of facts, the truck was parked on Victoria Ave while resurfacing work was underway when its brakes failed and it began reversing downhill at speed.
Walters, who was cutting asphalt with co-workers, was struck and run over. The truck continued for several hundred metres, colliding with lampposts before crashing into a tree and wall.
Ali initially left the scene but was later arrested and charged. He will be sentenced later this year.
Read the full NZ Herald report, including details of repeated compliance failures, here.
