A Northland tool hire company has been ordered to pay more than $470,000 after a trailer it modified and hired out fishtailed into a family's car, killing a woman.
Kerikeri Tool Hire 2015 Limited was sentenced in the Kaikohe District Court on Monday. Judge Shortland fined the company $140,000 and ordered it to pay $333,833 in reparation to the victims.
The company had pleaded guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The charge was that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that its hire of a modified trailer did not put people at risk.
On December 28, 2024, the company hired a twin-axle trailer and a mini loader to a member of the public.
It had previously extended the trailer’s ramp locking bars so heavier machinery could sit further back on the deck. WorkSafe said the change had altered the ramp’s pitch and affected the trailer’s balance and load distribution.
The customer was driving to return the trailer and loader when the trailer began to fishtail, crossed the centre line and smashed head-on into a car.
'A family has lost a mother and a wife'
The driver of the car, Mandy Mackenzie, died from her injuries.
One passenger was seriously injured and needed three surgeries on their hand. Mackenzie’s husband and three other passengers had minor injuries, as did the driver towing the trailer.
WorkSafe regional manager Brad Duggan said the crash could have been prevented.
"A family has lost a mother and a wife, and another person has been left with serious injuries," he said.
"When a business changes a piece of equipment and then hires it out, it takes on responsibility for making sure it is safe for the people who use it and everyone else they encounter while it's being used."
'Equipment stays in yard' if any doubt on safety
WorkSafe has urged hire companies to assess any modification for its effect on safety before the equipment goes out the door.
"If there is doubt, the equipment stays in the yard," WorkSafe said.
The regulator said hirers could not leave safety to their customers, because hirers knew their equipment's limits and any changes made to it. It said businesses should check their gear now for past modifications that had never been properly assessed.
"Our thoughts are with Mandy Mackenzie's family and everyone affected by this crash," Duggan said.
"We urge every business that hires out equipment to look at what it supplies and how it has been changed, and to act before someone is hurt."
The company was charged under sections 36(2)(a), 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of the Act, which carry a maximum fine of $1.5 million.
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