The company running Mount Ruapehu’s ski fields has been formally convicted but has avoided paying a penalty after a bus crash that left an 11-year-old girl dead and some of the 30 others on board injured.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) was operating the shuttle that overturned in July 2018 on Ohakune Mountain Road, when the brakes failed.
The company is currently in liquidation, after several seasons with poor conditions and Covid restrictions, owing creditors around $45 million.
WorkSafe prosecutor Rachael Woods said a lack of vehicle maintenance and a lack of driver training was to blame, after a coronial inquest in 2021 found the driver had been in too high a gear as the bus went down the mountain road.
Hannah Francis, 11, sustained critical injuries and died en route to Waikato Hospital.
“All I have left of Hannah are memories, videos, photos and emptiness,” said Michelle Bruton, her mother, as she read her victim impact statement. “No parent should have to say goodbye to a child.”
Several other victim impact statements were read by those on the bus in court this afternoon, recalling the horror as the bus lost control, the screaming and crying on board, and the long term injuries caused by the collision.
Judge Maria Pecotic initially reached a fine of $250,000 against RAL, but then acknowledged there were "no funds available to pay a fine", and it wasn’t in the interests of justice to impose the penalty.
Reparations of over $430,000 were ordered in relation to 17 victims, which would be paid by insurance.
While a Government bail out means it can operate this season, its future remains unclear.
In court today, lawyers for RAL expressed their remorse and acknowledged their failures.
Jono Dean, chief executive of RAL, issued an apology to the victims after the court adjourned.
"We sincerely apologise for the harm that was caused and for those who have been impacted by this tragedy."
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