Susan Walmsley, 64, crashed her car due to reduced visibility from the fertiliser cloud on the Tauranga Eastern Link Road in February 2020. She later died in hospital. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
A Bay of Plenty company has been ordered to pay more than $600,000 for spreading fertiliser across a farm, which caused reduced visibility on the nearby motorway and led to a fatal multi-vehicle crash.
Wealleans Bay of Plenty was spreading the lime at a dairy farm next to the Tauranga Eastern Link Road in February 2020 when the cloud drifted across the motorway on the wind.
Susan Walmsley, 64, crashed her car and later died in hospital.
In June, Judge Paul Mabey QC found Wealleans guilty of health and safety failings, and the company was sentenced today at Tauranga District Court yesterday.
The company has been fined $360,000, and ordered to pay $210,000 in emotional harm reparations and $88,649 in consequential loss reparations.
In his decision, Judge Mabey said the fertiliser truck driver "had no control over what the wind was doing to the product, but that is the point".
The judgment went on to say the driver "was spreading in circumstances where the wind caused third party risk, was unaware of what was occurring before she stopped and when, finally, a decision to stop was made it was too late".
"There was a white-out basically" - WorkSafe area investigation manager Paul West
WorkSafe area investigation manager Paul West said Walmsley was a loved mother, wife and teacher.
"Our thoughts are with all those who continue to mourn her loss. This was a preventable tragedy, and more should have been done to account for the risk to road users.
"There was huge potential for this to be much worse. One of the witnesses described it like driving into a piece of paper, the visibility just disappeared."
The incident and its consequences sent a clear message to the agricultural sector, West said.
"All industry guidance makes clear that there is a risk of wind drift. Agricultural lime is a dusty product that can cause a reduction in visibility, depending on how it is handled or local weather conditions," he said.
"This risk should be assessed before use, including the impact on operators, farmers, nearby moving vehicles, and the public.
"Contractors and farmers need to have those discussions between themselves; the farmers know the farm, they know the prevailing winds, they know things like this, the contractors know their product. Having that communication can be the start of actually working out what could go wrong."
West said the company accepted the court judgment when it went to trial and he understands the industry body was working on updated guidelines on spreading fertiliser.