A Picton man commended for bravery in the 2014 Ashburton Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) shooting is blaming his employer for a truck crash caused by exceeding work time hours.
The Marlborough Express is reporting that David Cooze, 50, was on the road for more than 14 hours trying to get from St Arnaud to Christchurch, and back to Picton in one day using the alternative inland state highway route.
Police last year awarded Cooze a bravery medal for confronting Russell Tully in 2014 when he stormed the Ashburton WINZ office killing two women employees inside.
Inside the WINZ office, Cooze pushed another woman out the door as the shooting began and he approached the shooter twice as he was leaving the scene, forcing Tully to drop his bike helmet which prosecutors later used to link him to the crime.
In a summary of facts regarding the truck crash, Police say Cooze left Saint Arnaud at 10.45am on March 15, arriving in Christchurch about 4.15pm. He took a break before heading to Murchison, arriving about 10.30pm where he stopped again.
Cooze then drove on through Nelson and reached Renwick, west of Blenheim where he rolled his truck on a bend leaving the town, blocking the road for six hours after the crash.
Appearing in the Blenheim District Court on Monday May 8, Cooze was charged with dangerous driving and exceeding 13 hours of work as a truck driver.
He told the court that his boss told him to keep driving despite exceeding his work time hours.
Representing Cooze, barrister John Holdaway advised the court that Cooze told his employer he would not be able to drive to Picton without breaking the law, but his boss told him to keep driving anyway.
Cooze also informed his employer that he removed the electronic brake cable from the trailer as it was faulty, which meant he could only stop by solely using the trucks braking system.
It is a criminal offence to disconnect an electronic brake cable.
In his pre-sentencing summary, Judge Richard Russell said the alternate highway was not designed for the heavy traffic it had to cope with.
“Truck drivers such as yourself have a heightened obligation to other users, particularly when using this road. This falls well short of the mark of what the public and the court are entitled to expect from professional truck driver’s in your position,” says Russell.
“It was not acceptable to continue onto Picton with the truck and trailer not working properly,” he says.
Judge Russell convicted Cooze on both charges, fining him $1500 for the dangerous driving charge, and $350 for exceeding 13 work time hours, and disqualified him from driving a Class 2 to 5 vehicle for nine months.
