A man with life-long injuries, who was wrongly accused of causing a serious road accident in Masterton, still has unanswered questions five years on.
1News can reveal that in 2017, major flaws in a crash investigation by police allowed the person responsible to walk free.
Father of three Joe Governor (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) was riding his motorbike to work, heading south on Ngaumutawa Rd, when he collided with an oncoming vehicle turning across his path and into a side street.
Joe Governor, wrongly accused of causing the accident which left him with life-long injuries, still has unanswered questions five years on. (Source: 1News)
Police initially blamed Joe for the accident.
"When the report came through about my accident, and what people were saying, that hurt more than my pain," Joe said. "That gutted me. I was going through enough without hearing things that didn't happen."
The crash changed Joe's life. Before the accident, he had worked his way up to become the head storeman at the former Watson & Son in Masterton, where he managed goods, drove a forklift and a truck. He was a confident and experienced driver.
"I had a good job, I was earning good money, life at home was great. I had weekends where I went riding.
"I was active. I did as much as I could around the yard. I did my house, painted it. I did lots of things, until that day."
The accident left him with multiple serious injuries, including a broken ankle, broken wrist, broken fingers, cracked ribs and punctured lungs.
Joe spent months in hospital and had to give up his job. He can no longer walk unassisted, and uses a crutch as support.
But five years on, it's not the injuries that Joe struggles with most. Its thinking about how police handled the crash investigation. It's still difficult for him to talk about without pausing to cry.
"Why did they say it was my fault when I did nothing? I was just driving along down the road on my own and someone just turned in front of me and ran me over."
The initial crash report by Masterton police said Joe passed a truck at speed near the site of the crash, and the oncoming vehicle did not have enough time to see him before turning.
Joe maintained that wasn't what happened, and in 2018 complained to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). The IPCA did not reinvestigate the crash, but told Joe at the time it agreed with police actions.
"No one would listen. We tried so many different avenues and we just kept being pushed back. No one wanted to hear it," said Jill Governor, Joe's wife.
"He's a strong man, normally, and I had to go to work at the time. Some days, I'd just come home and he'd be a mess."
She and Joe persisted, continuing to demand the crash investigation be reviewed. It took nearly a year for police to re-look at the case. A senior sergeant eventually visited Joe at home and finally admitted police got it wrong.
Joe recorded the meeting.
"We've got no information that supports that you were speeding... the reality is, you would have been in view for up to 15 seconds prior to the crash," the senior sergeant said.
"You were there to be seen and should have been seen. So, for that reason, we now conclude that the driver of the turning car is at fault."
Police have since accepted Joe passed the truck long before the crash site, and there was plenty of time for the turning vehicle to see him.
The senior sergeant said there was a failure by the Masterton officer involved to objectively identify and review witness statements, and he needed more training.
But by then, it was too late to charge the person responsible for the crash. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, charges for careless driving causing injury must be filed within six months of the incident.
It was another blow to Joe and his family, who had insisted Joe was not at fault from the beginning.
"I just want some justice, really. I want some accountability," said Joe.
In a statement to 1News, Masterton police apologised for what occurred.
"Police acknowledge that the original crash investigation incorrectly determined that Mr Governor was at fault in the crash that occurred on 25 July, 2017," they said. "Police understand that this matter has been extremely upsetting for Mr Governor and his family and we apologise for that.
"The police staff involved were part of the investigation review with a focus on lessons learnt. Training and development of our people is an ongoing and key component in our service delivery. Any review of an investigation is an important part of identifying opportunities for improvement."
But Joe would like a more thorough explanation as to how police initially came to the conclusion that he was at fault.
He also has many unanswered questions, including why one woman - who claims she was first at the scene immediately after the crash - wasn't interviewed by police.
1News has contacted the woman who has corroborated this account, saying she waited with Joe until emergency services arrived and was never spoken to by officers.
Police did not respond to questions by 1News as to why her statement wasn't taken.
"How can you get something so wrong?," said Joe. "I can't just walk away and say, 'OK, we just accept it...' because, why did this happen to me?"
He hopes by speaking out, he might finally receive some more answers.
"I'd hate to see someone go through what I went through with an accident.
"I could have died in that accident and my family would have believed [police] and all their lives would have thought that I was at fault."
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