An inquest has endorsed findings that farmers need to be more careful about the risks they expose themselves and their children to after a North Otago farmer and her son drowned.
Nadine Tomlinson. Photo: Supplied
Nadine Tomlinson and her three-year-old son, Angus, were on a tractor and trailer when it slipped into the reservoir on their sheep and beef farm near Palmerston on 30 September, 2018.
Angus was not restrained in the tractor cab as there was no second seat or seatbelt in the 2004 John Deere tractor.
They had been on their way to collect a dead animal in the tractor after Tomlinson - an experienced tractor driver - asked her son if he wanted to go with her in the early afternoon.
He liked tractors.
But in order to pick up the animal, she needed to collect a trailer parked near the dam on top of a hill.
When they hadn't returned after a few hours, her husband drove to where the trailer was parked, which wasn't there, and then to where the dead animal still lay.
He was retracing his steps when he saw fertiliser bags floating in the dam and noticed skid marks leading into the water, and sounded the alarm.
The Dunedin Search and Rescue water rescue squad was deployed, but nothing was found due to the limited visibility.
By then the tractor was believed to have been in dam for several hours and the search became a recovery mission.
The bodies of Nadine and Angus were recovered the next day by police divers.
She had managed to get out of the tractor cab with Angus, removing the left door, but had not been able to get to the surface. A small cleat on the trailer had snagged her shirt.
She was 16 weeks pregnant with their third child.
Coroner Sue Johnson found the deaths were an accident, calling them absolutely tragic in her report.
"From the evidence before me I believe it is most probable that Mrs Tomlinson, in descending the steep slope after collecting the trailer, became concerned at the speed the tractor was travelling," she said.
"Despite her extensive tractor driving experience, it appears that she only applied the left-hand side brake pedal with the intention of turning right in the direction of the dead animal. However, this caused the tractor to sledge and continue tracking straight into the dam. The weight of the trailer may also have influenced the braking capability of the tractor."
Instead of making any recommendations. Johnson referred to and endorsed the WorkSafe NZ investigation findings.
WorkSafe NZ concluded passengers should only be carried in fit for purpose vehicles and applying both brakes correctly improves efficiency.
"The agriculture sector has an opportunity to learn from this incident, passengers must not be carried in any vehicle that does not have sufficient seating, restraints or is not fit for the purpose for carrying passengers," the WorkSafe investigation concluded.
"By having unseated, unrestrained or people in positions in or on vehicles not designed to carry passengers, the hazards and risks associated with the use of any vehicle are significantly increased.
"These learnings are also applicable across other sectors where vehicles and young people are involved
"In relation to the tractor braking systems, the farming industry should also take learnings from this investigation that braking distance and efficiency are greatly increased when both right and left brakes are applied correctly on a tractor.
"Farm tracks need to be made as safe as possible and maintained."