The mother of a motorist killed on a notorious stretch of Canterbury highway says someone should be held accountable for her death.
Kellyanne Cindal Pattinson was driving south on State Highway 1 in early 2018 when a northbound food delivery truck veered across three lanes and hit her car.
The 31-year-old had no opportunity to brake or swerve and died at the scene.
In findings released earlier this month, Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame found the Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency knew the stretch of road near Pareora in South Canterbury was hazardous and hadn’t taken adequate steps to address documented concerns.
No charges were laid after the police investigation.
‘We were left in the dark’
Now Helen Pattinson is speaking out about the ordeal.
Pattinson carries a thick folder of correspondence after years of questioning authorities about her daughter’s death.
She’s pointed her finger at police and NZTA, saying her family was treated poorly during the investigation.
“We were left in the dark for periods of time with no point of contact,” she told NZME.
She accepts the coroner’s findings but still believes someone should have been held accountable.
“There were shortcomings in the investigation.”
She described her daughter as bubbly, “just a neat kid who had a lot of friends”.
Kellyanne had two jobs, working as a kitchen hand at a rest home and as a community caregiver.
“She cared about people.”
Pattinson said she was told by police someone would be held accountable and charged.
“Why can the police not bring charges against NZTA or the contractors?”
She also questioned the way Kellyanne’s body was treated.
“She was brought back to the police yard, on a truck, still in the car and I knew she would have hated that.”
After looking through the police file, Pattinson said photographs showed her daughter’s body “extracted and dumped on the ground”.
“The police told us she was treated with dignity; this never happened.
“Even at the crash site, they said she was covered and someone stayed with her, but this never happened.”
‘No one ever answered’
Pattinson said Kellyanne had visited her in Timaru earlier that day.
“I told her to drive safely, to which she replied, ‘Oh mum, I always do’.
“I said ‘Sweetheart, it’s not you, it’s the other idiots on the road’.”
Pattinson said Kellyanne was meant to be at work in Waimate later that day and her boss called saying they were looking for her.
“I knew something had happened.”
She drove to the crash site and asked questions.
Pattinson said she was told to go to the police station in Timaru and identified her daughter’s body later that night.
“I ended up with many different police cards from all the different officers all saying to get in touch with any questions.
“No one ever answered.
“When we got told no charges were being laid, we felt betrayed and in shock.
“We will never know the full story as to what happened, as no one will ever be answerable, she will be swept under the carpet, like dust, the dust she has become.”
More work needed
Coroner Cunninghame found no evidence of driver fault and recommended a safety improvement project proceed, including the installation of median barriers at the crash site, safety treatments at nearby intersections and supporting safety features.
NZTA analysis presented to the coroner showed five crashes within 250m of the crash site between 2012 and 2017.
One was serious, three were non-injury crashes and one was minor.
All were loss of control and four of the five involved northbound vehicles.
Before the crash, NZTA had heard concerns from the Pareora community about an intersection 600m from the site and had been reviewing the highway.
Two months before, NZTA arranged for the road at the crash site to be resealed.
The contractor noted a loss of texture in the northbound left lane.
A “slippery when wet” sign was installed for the northbound lanes shortly after, but NZTA took no action to fix the northbound left lane, according to the findings.
Three days after the fatal crash, the northbound left lane at the crash site was resealed, which NZTA described as a temporary measure.
Rumble strips and edge lines were installed later that year and, in 2019 and 2020, further resealing and surface treatment were carried out to address excess bitumen and improve skid resistance.
A safety improvement project to install median barriers at the crash site was scheduled for completion in February this year, but NZTA told the coroner it did not proceed because it needed to “align with government priorities”.
Police defend their actions
Canterbury road policing manager Inspector Vicki Walker defended police actions, saying they conducted an extensive and thorough investigation over seven months, assisted by multiple units and peer-reviewed by a number of officers.
“In this case, we found that this tragic crash was not caused by driver error or vehicle faults, and police concluded that there was no criminality.
“Regarding concerns that Miss Pattinson was not removed from her car, emergency services looked at options for extraction in line with operating procedures.
“Staff determined the best and most respectful way to remove her was to transport the vehicle to a secure and private location, out of public view.”
Walker said the Independent Police Conduct Authority had acknowledged the difficulty of the decision to leave the body in the car.
“Throughout this investigation police kept contact with Miss Pattinson’s family to provide updates as they were available; we acknowledge there were often long periods in between.
“Police last spoke to Miss Pattinson’s family in September 2022 where an officer discussed the outcome of the investigation when it was completed.
“We remain open to speaking with the family again and encourage them to reach out to us if they feel comfortable.”
Police acknowledged the coroner’s findings, Walker said.
NZTA: More could have been done
NZTA director of regional relationships James Caygill acknowledged the coroner’s view that more could have been done before the crash.
“Our involvement in this matter was principally through the coronial process, where information was provided to assist the coroner’s investigation.
“NZTA respects the findings and recommendations of the coroner on safety issues on this section of SH1 where this tragic fatal crash happened in 2018.
“The Timaru to St Andrews safety improvements project, which the coroner recommends that NZTA implements, is a major project in size and scope, and we have so far been unable to advance it due to funding availability.
“The progression of the project in future will be subject to government prioritisation and funding availability.”
Pattinson said she remained determined to find accountability for her daughter.
“You have to make sure you get all the information, and don’t stop asking questions.
“Everyone needs to be accountable; people need to put their hands up and take responsibility.”
