His report comes with a warning to the rural community “of the dangers young children face while accompanying their parents as they carry out their everyday duties on the farm”.
“The serious crash analyst has rightly pointed out that [the girl’s] death would not have occurred if she had not been riding on the quad bike while her father pulled a mower behind the bike,” Coroner Ryan said.
“This death therefore was entirely preventable.”
The name of the girl and all details which would identify her family have been permanently suppressed.
Bike used to mow thistles
Coroner Ryan said the girl lived with her parents on the farm and would often ride as a passenger on the bike as her father drove it around the property.
On March 23, 2024, her father was using the quad bike to mow thistles in a paddock, with the girl sitting on a plywood platform across the back seat.
She was wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet but had no other protective clothing.
“At one point, as [the father] was driving in a straight line at around 5km/h, [the girl] fell backwards off the quad bike and was run over by the mower,” Coroner Ryan said.
The father stopped the bike and lifted the mower off his daughter, helped by another family member who was nearby.
The girl was in a “dire condition” and the two men did what they could to stem the bleeding from her wounds.
Emergency services reached the rural property about 26 minutes after being called, and a paramedic assessed her and confirmed she had died.
She had suffered “multiple injuries”.
Coroner Peter Ryan suppressed the girl’s name and identifying factors. Photo / RNZ, Conan Young
An investigation found nothing wrong with the bike, but the plywood tray on which the girl was sitting could be lifted about 12cm on the left side.
A large cable tie holding the plywood onto the bike’s frame on that side had snapped.
There were no handholds on the side of the frame and a warning label on the right mudguard of the bike said it should not be used to carry passengers.
The girl had ridden on the bike frequently, but never before when the mower was attached and being operated.
Bike may have hit rough ground
The crash analyst considered that the girl probably fell backwards when the bike hit a rough patch of ground and the plywood board moved.
The lack of a handhold on the left side of the frame meant she would not have been able to prevent herself from falling.
“I appreciate children love to be involved with their parents particularly working on farms, and that generally they do so in a safe environment,” Coroner Ryan said.
“But a young child riding unrestrained on an inherently unstable vehicle such as a quad bike cannot be described as being in a safe environment.
“I note there is no suggestion [the father] was driving the quad bike in a reckless manner; he was driving slowly and in a straight line.
“Nevertheless, due to a combination of factors [the girl] fell from the bike,” the coroner said.
“This demonstrates the inherent danger of allowing young children to ride as passengers on quad bikes being utilised to perform farming tasks.”
In suppressing the family’s identities, Coroner Ryan cited evidence about how family members were struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
He said it would be “unjust” for the family to suffer further serious distress, which would be likely to adversely affect their mental health, through the publication of their identities.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.