The driver of a rubbish truck who hit an elderly woman, leading to her death as she crossed the road in Burnie in 2021, had “between 15 and 20 seconds” to see her but failed to do so, a coroner has found.
Eric Flight was driving the JJRichards waste truck through the Burnie CBD just before 12pm on August 24, 2021, when he struck 79-year-old grandmother Pamela Bernice Gee.
Coroner Robert Webster supported a magistrate’s findings that the incident occurred because Flight “failed to observe” Gee and then “failed to give way to her” as she crossed the road on a green pedestrian signal.
“Had the lifting mechanism and tynes of the truck been in the upper position then the arms of the lifting mechanism would not have obscured Mr Flight’s view of Mrs Gee as Mr Flight was waiting for the lights on Mount Street to turn green,” Webster said.
“Alternatively if he had lent forward in the driver’s seat, prior to executing the left-hand turn into Cattley Street, then Mr Flight’s view of Mrs Gee would not have been obscured.”
Flight was found guilty of causing death due to negligent driving and received a suspended prison sentence and a six-month driving ban.
The crash investigation revealed that Flight had at least 15 seconds to observe the woman before the incident, while WorkSafe Tasmania determined that the primary cause of the collision was Flight’s failure to ensure the truck’s path was clear.
Following the death, key intersections in Burnie and other cities across the state now have a three-second delayed start for drivers to allow pedestrians more time to cross.
Waste management company JJ Richards has also made modifications to its heavy vehicles to improve driver visibility.
