Father said he didn't see train

A father accused of killing his four-year-old son by driving his car in front of a freight train in South Auckland said "it's my boy, it's my boy, I didn't see the train" after the crash, a jury was told today.

Alan Stephens, 40, has pleaded not guilty to reckless driving causing manslaughter and three charges of reckless driving causing injury in the High Court at Auckland.

The Crown alleges Stephens drove his car around barrier arms at the railway intersection at Paerata, near Pukekohe, in 2009, directly into the path of the train which slammed into the back of the car, killing his son Trae Blayde and injuring his daughters Shannyne, six, and Holly, two, and niece Nakita, 12.

Pamela Taylor, a local resident, was one of the first people to arrive at the scene and told the court she went towards the car, where she saw a boy sitting in the back left of the vehicle.

"His eyes were shut. His head was slumped and he had a massive injury on his head," Ms Taylor said.

"His Dad tried to approach but I didn't let him near the boy as I thought moving him might be dangerous.

"He kept saying, 'it's my boy, it's my boy, I didn't see the train'," Ms Taylor said.

She told the jury she sat in the back of the car with a young girl who was sitting next to the boy.

"She was very shaken up. Her eyes were wide. She was very quiet," Ms Taylor said.

All children were wearing seatbelts, she told the jury.

Quentin Duff, representing Stephens, chose not to cross-examine Ms Taylor.

Paramedic Lance Hill told the court the driver was in an agitated state.

"He was standing away from the car looking back towards Pukekohe, rather than what was going on in the car.

"He then seemed to be more interested in finding something in the vehicle which I found rather strange at the time," Mr Hill said.

Earlier, Jeremy Berendsen, who was driving on the road that day, said he stopped near the rail crossing as the barrier arm was down and the lights were flashing.

"I saw the train hit the car. It (the car) spun round a number of times and a young girl flew out of the back of the car onto the grass.

"The barrier arm flew towards my car," he said.

Mr Berendsen's girlfriend Shannen Moffitt, who was a passenger in his car, said the girl landed five metres in front of their vehicle.

"There was a pool of blood where she landed and she didn't move," Ms Moffitt said.

Ms Moffitt, who was 16 at he time, tearfully recounted seeing the girl lift herself up then fall back down.

Trae Stephens sustained critical injuries and was flown by rescue helicopter to hospital, where he died later. Nakita received severe head injuries and would have serious problems for the rest of her life, the Crown said.

Holly suffered subdural bleeding to the brain and Shannon received cuts and bruises, while Stephens was uninjured.

The Crown is expected to call 24 witnesses.

A jury of seven men and five women was sworn in on Monday for the trial set down for two weeks.

- NZPA