Car driver looked wrong way before collision

A New Plymouth woman killed in a collision at Airport Drive was looking the other way when she pulled out in front of a truck, the coroner has found.

Jennifer Anne Gleeson, 61, a horticulturist, died when her Honda Logo was crushed to almost half its size in the collision with the truck at the intersection of SH3 and Airport Drive on August 25.

Mrs Gleeson is survived by her husband Lloyd and four adult children. Coroner Tim Scott, based in Palmerston North, said it would have been impossible for the truck driver to avoid crashing into Mrs Gleeson.

"Jennifer did not see the approaching truck because she did not look to her right immediately before proceeding from the Give Way sign," Mr Scott said in his findings, which were released yesterday. "It is impossible for me to determine why she did not do so."

Mrs Gleeson's death was the result of multiple injuries.

Mr Scott said there were no visibility problems, that he was aware of, from either Airport Drive or SH3.

The driver of a car behind Mrs Gleeson told police she saw her move forward from the intersection into the path of the oncoming truck while she was looking left.

Senior Constable Les Maddaford, of the police Serious Crash Unit, calculated the truck's speed to be 74kmh and found no fault with the truck or Mrs Gleeson's car.

Mr Maddaford found Mrs Gleeson's actions were the prime cause of the crash.

The small lapse of attention had horrendous consequences for Mrs Gleeson's family and was a terrible misfortune that words could not describe, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News