The summary said the man did not wait for his vehicle to warm up before driving, and his windscreen was clouded or condensing.
Dansey Rd is a rural two-lane road, separated by a single centre line. The speed limit is 100km/h and the roadside has a solid white line leading into a grass verge. There is no cycle lane or footpath.
The man drove up an incline bordered by mature trees. Near the top of the hill, the landscape on both sides of the road was flat farm paddocks.
The summary said the man drove out of dissipating fog and was confronted by bright sunlight within his field of vision.
He did not stop to address the lack of visibility or slow down enough to stop or evade potential hazards.
Sakura Hall, 2, died on May 22, 2025, after the vehicle she was a passenger in hit a stationary rubbish truck.
A Hino rubbish truck was parked on the left-hand side of the live lane of Dansey Rd. The truck’s amber warning beacons were activated.
The rubbish truck had been parked there for one minute and 34 seconds before the crash. No pilot vehicle or other traffic management was in place, and there was no legal requirement for it.
The summary said the rubbish truck operator was complying with the road rules.
The operator was out of his vehicle, standing near the bins he was about to empty.
The sun’s low angle on the section of road immediately before the crash washed out all contrast, and the man did not see the truck, its flashing lights or warning signs.
The van travelled at least 205m between the defendant being exposed to sunstrike and the collision.
His van collided with the truck’s rear, causing severe damage. The impact speed was between 62km/h and 86km/h.
The summary said the man slowed as a result of the sunstrike, but he did not slow sufficiently or pull over.
“The combination of his failure to safely navigate the sunstrike and the position of the rubbish truck in the live lane are the primary causes of the crash,” the summary said.
The man made an evasive swerve to the right about 0.3 to 0.4 seconds before impact. The impact caused the front left-hand side of the defendant’s vehicle to cave in and down on top of Sakura. She died at the scene.
Police took a blood sample from the man, and he was found to have 12 (+/-4) nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per millilitre of blood. The high-risk level is three.
The man told police he smoked cannabis daily. He said his windscreen had fogged over; he slowed down, and within 10-15 seconds the rubbish truck was suddenly there without warning.
He stated that when he felt the sunstrike, he took his foot off the accelerator but didn’t think he had time to brake.
He will be sentenced on January 22.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.