{"id":377075,"date":"2026-04-13T08:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T08:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/377075\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T08:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T08:39:09","slug":"hamilton-man-accused-of-causing-fatal-crash-says-he-must-have-blacked-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/377075\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamilton man accused of causing fatal crash says he \u2018must have blacked out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The driver is now on trial in the Hamilton District Court<\/a> before Judge Arthur Tompkins on charges of dangerous driving causing death and injury.<\/p>\n

The defendant\u2019s name has been suppressed since the crash and that will continue through the judge-alone trial, which is set down for three days and will involve 18 Crown witnesses.<\/p>\n

While the accused admits being the driver of the car that caused the crash and Bell\u2019s death, he is defending the charges on the basis his driving didn\u2019t fall below the standard of a prudent driver and didn\u2019t create a situation that was objectively dangerous<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Crown prosecutor Russell Boot told Judge Tompkins the defendant shouldn\u2019t have been driving that day as he had been issued a medical suspension by a Waikato Hospital doctor in December 2020.<\/p>\n

What evidence there is of that medical order, and whether any is required, will likely be a key matter in the trial.<\/p>\n

Several members of Bell\u2019s wh\u0101nau were in attendance for the start of today\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was a huge impact and explosion\u2019<\/p>\n

The court heard the crash happened at the intersection of Whatawhata Rd and Poaka Ave, on the afternoon of April 26, 2021. <\/p>\n

Outlining what happened, Boot said the defendant had travelled along Bremworth Ave before he turned on to Poaka Ave, heading north towards Whatawhata Rd.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Hamilton automotive engineer Jeffrey Dawson was heading towards the city on Whatawhata Rd.<\/p>\n

As Dawson approached the intersection with Poaka Ave he took a glance and didn\u2019t see any cars waiting or approaching the give way line.<\/p>\n

He then looked back to the vehicle in front of him and when he was directly opposite the intersection suddenly saw \u201cwhat I consider to be a flash of red, out of my peripheral vision\u201d.<\/p>\n

He next felt a \u201chuge impact and explosion\u201d to the right-hand side of his vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost in slow motion, I became aware that suddenly I was on the right side, basically leaning into the driver\u2019s door … and thinking, \u2018oh, I\u2019m now upside down\u2019 and then back up the right way, then back, upside down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how many times I went over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recalled with a thud landing up the right way on the wheels of the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boot said Dawson\u2019s vehicle ended up doing a 180-degree turn and landed facing the way it had been coming from.<\/p>\n

After hitting Dawson\u2019s car, the defendant\u2019s car went up a kerb, through a road sign and became airborne, striking Bell.<\/p>\n

\"AA Hamilton man is on trial defending charges of dangerous driving causing injury and death after a crash on April 26, 2021, at the intersection of Poaka Ave and Whatawhata Rd. Photos \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

Bell and the VW continued through the iron gates before Bell was thrown into a garden on the property. The car crashed into two parked cars.<\/p>\n

Bell was found 7m from the footpath. An occupant of the house began giving him first aid until Hato Hone St John staff arrived but Bell died at the scene.<\/p>\n

When questioned, the defendant told police he \u201cmust have blacked out\u201d.<\/p>\n

Boot said three days before the crash, the defendant went to Anglesea Clinic seeking treatment for breathing difficulties, sleep apnoea and his muscles locking up.<\/p>\n

He had been forbidden to drive by medical staff in 2019, and on December 10, 2020, after an admission to Waikato Hospital, a doctor forbade him to drive for 12 months.<\/p>\n

However, NZ Transport Agency\u2019s Ari McBrearty gave evidence the defendant had signed for all of his driver licences, learner\u2019s, restricted and full, on the basis he wasn\u2019t suffering any medical conditions that could impact his driving.<\/p>\n

\u2018I told him not to drive for 12 months\u2019<\/p>\n

Waikato Hospital consultant Dr Manjulo Ratnaweera treated the accused on December 10, 2020.<\/p>\n

The man had told her he went to the hospital as he had been experiencing \u201can increasing frequency of seizure episodes\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said he first went to the hospital on December 8, before being discharged and returning the next day, when he was admitted.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice inspect the crash scene, and Jeffrey Dawson’s ute, after the crash on April 26, 2021. Photos \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had what we call pseudoseizures, or stress-related seizures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pseudoseizures are seizures that don\u2019t fit the normal criteria of a seizure.<\/p>\n

Given his pseudoseizures, Ratnaweera verbally told him not to drive for 12 months.<\/p>\n

However, while there was an entry in his discharge notes not to drive, no time period was specified.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually I say 12 months after the last episode but that has not been documented,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just comes out like that to every patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018He had opioids in his system\u2019<\/p>\n

Neurologist Dr Christopher Lynch told the court he saw the defendant in Waikato Hospital in November 2018, after he\u2019d experienced a number of \u201cseizure-like events\u201d.<\/p>\n

After an assessment, he deemed the defendant had not suffered an epileptic seizure, but a \u201cfunny turn\u201d, an event more likely because of hyperventilation, anxiety, or the opioids that were found in his system.<\/p>\n

Lynch told the defendant not to drive for 12 months, which was written in his discharge notes. <\/p>\n

\u2018I lost consciousness, like I fainted\u2019<\/p>\n

The accused told Detective Kerry Tinworth at Waikato Hospital, soon after the crash, that he was driving to work when he suddenly \u201clost consciousness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I fainted in a sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalled that just as he was going over the speed bump on Poaka Ave, near Jasmine Ave, he blacked out, but before going through the intersection.<\/p>\n

He remembered a bit of the impact and getting out of the car, before adding that his accelerator was \u201ca bit touchy\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told Tinworth he had a condition where his body locks up, normally just his hips, and is caused by a change in temperature or stress, but said \u201cit happens rarely these days\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Hamilton man’s red car ploughed through the iron gate of this Whatawhata Rd property, and into two parked cars that were then shunted into the house. Photos \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

The defendant said it felt \u201clike a faint, not a seizure\u201d as his head felt fine, before adding that he would feel his chest muscles seize up and he can\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n

\u2018I had red liquid running down my shoulder, and fingertips\u2019<\/p>\n

Dawson told the court after getting out of his ute he looked around, questioning himself, \u201cwhat happened, what hit me or what I had hit\u201d. <\/p>\n

A woman rushed up to him, appearing shocked, as he had what looked like blood on him.<\/p>\n

He then looked down and saw red liquid running down his shoulder and off his fingertips and on to the ground.<\/p>\n

However, what they thought was blood was in fact automatic transmission fluid that had been inside his ute.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I assured people that I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trial continues.<\/p>\n

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The driver is now on trial in the Hamilton District Court before Judge Arthur Tompkins on charges of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1117,74,33846,196618,196620,11519,126966,3549,3685,11784,43972,6288,305,692,1861,296,20495,5158,9097,111,43,139,69,1118,3111,33551,675,312,196619,43211,6859,35538,4770],"class_list":{"0":"post-377075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-accused","9":"tag-after","10":"tag-along","11":"tag-blacked","12":"tag-careering","13":"tag-causing","14":"tag-clipping","15":"tag-crash","16":"tag-events","17":"tag-fatal","18":"tag-footpath","19":"tag-hamilton","20":"tag-have","21":"tag-he","22":"tag-history","23":"tag-into","24":"tag-kerb","25":"tag-man","26":"tag-must","27":"tag-new-zealand","28":"tag-news","29":"tag-newzealand","30":"tag-nz","31":"tag-of","32":"tag-out","33":"tag-pedestrian","34":"tag-police","35":"tag-says","36":"tag-seizuretype","37":"tag-suffering","38":"tag-told","39":"tag-ute","40":"tag-walking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}