NZ woman run over while sweeping under truck

A New Zealand woman who found a job, a loving partner, and a happy life in Queensland lost it all when she was run over and killed while working at the port of Mackay in central Queensland.

Rae Williams, 56, had the job of sweeping up pieces of scrap metal around trucks being loaded at the port, but a truck drove over her while she was sweeping under it, the Mackay Daily Mercury reported.

Paramedics rushed to the scene but she was pronounced dead on arrival at Mackay Base Hospital on October 7 last year.

Her employer OneSteel Recycling was fined $A120,000 ($NZ149,600) in the Industrial Magistrate's Court in Brisbane yesterday for breaching its workplace, health and safety obligations.

The mother of four was described as having a smile which could light up a room. She moved to Mackay and initially found work as a truck driver.

She also found love with her partner Rod Kaddatz, who said outside the court that it was "very difficult" to accept that despite a health and safety act which had been in place for many years, a big company did not have a safe system for workers.

- NZPA