Initial investigations suggested that a braking manoeuvre from Brenssell was the cause of the crash. After taking more evidence and expert opinion into account, Coroner Ryan found it was more likely the A-frame collapsed as they entered the bend, shifting the weight, and initiating the roll-over sequence. This is what their families believed had happened and why they kept pushing to change the initial finding.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Shona Brenssell, left, and Dale Waitokia have been fighting for answers about their husband s deaths since 2013. On Monday, they got the official Coroner’s finding exonerating Brenssell s husband Wayne. Dale Waitokia said it wouldn’t have mattered who was driving.
The way police investigated a crash in which two men died in a truck rollover resulted in an an eight-year fight for their families.
A second coroner s findings, released on Monday, now say blaming the driver was inaccurate and unfair . File image
Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
Now they have won, with new findings exonerating the driver, but their fight to ensure others are not put through the same mill continues.
Tapanui Four Square worker Dale Waitokia said When you know something s not right, don t accept it lying down . Just because the police or somebody tells you it s right, doesn t mean it is. So just stand up and fight.
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