{"id":380529,"date":"2026-04-15T10:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/380529\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:53:10","slug":"hamilton-fatal-crash-accused-accepts-he-should-have-revealed-body-lock-ups-when-getting-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/380529\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamilton fatal crash accused accepts he should have revealed body \u2018lock-ups\u2019 when getting licence"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the dock at Hamilton District Court this morning, the 27-year-old said he couldn\u2019t recall much, if anything, from his previous medical and hospital appointments<\/a> and had received conflicting advice from family and his wife about what to do, and wasn\u2019t sure if his symptoms were real.<\/p>\n

Today, Crown prosecutor Russell Boot and defence counsel Ashleigh Beech also gave their closing statements to Judge Arthur Tompkins, who adjourned the case until Friday afternoon, when he will deliver his reserved decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re like muscle cramps\u2019<\/p>\n

In questioning from Beech, the accused<\/a> said he had experienced \u201cmuscle lock-up\u201d around his chest area and feelings of tightness since his late teens.<\/p>\n

This also affected his balance and was caused by anxiety and distress.<\/p>\n

Talking with his family and GP, he would describe them as \u201clock-ups\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like muscle cramps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

They could get worse and affect his ability to breathe, but he felt able to manage them and had not experienced one while driving before.<\/p>\n

Asked if he\u2019d been contacted by the NZ Transport Agency about not driving at any stage before the crash, the defendant said he hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was led to believe by my neurologist that these [lock-ups] were not real events.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I was led to believe I didn\u2019t have any real concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t think he had a condition that meant he could lose consciousness.<\/p>\n

Three days before the crash, he recalled seeing GP Dr David Dewes as he had \u201cconcerns about my condition … to make sure I was doing the right thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

On the day of the crash, he recalled turning left on to Poaka Ave and \u201cfelt fine\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I was coming up to the speed bumps, I felt like I had a sudden blackout,\u201d he told the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were no warning signs … this had been a new experience for me as with symptoms in the past I had warning signs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next thing he recalled was getting out of his car, collapsing on the ground and seeing members of the public giving Bell first aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was horrified in that moment as to what happened and I was scared that it was my doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018He felt he posed no risk on the road\u2019<\/p>\n

In her opening statement, Beech said there was no dispute the crash happened, but it didn\u2019t eventuate from dangerous driving.<\/p>\n

\u201c[My client] felt that he posed no risk on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defendant instead had a condition called somatoform disorder, where an episode looked like an epileptic one but was instead one caused by anxiety or stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not understood to be epileptic seizures or anything that would affect his ability to drive or his day-to-day life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite seeking medical advice, none of the doctors told her client not to drive, nor did he receive any discharge notes in the mail.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice at the scene of the crash at the intersection of Whatawhata Rd and Poaka Ave, Hamilton, in April 2021. Photo \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

Although he was unwell, and non-verbal during his December 2020 hospital stay, her client couldn\u2019t recall being told not to drive, \u201cand given his mental state was unable to retain that [information]\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was not until shortly after the crash in April 2021 that the accused was diagnosed with epilepsy and soon after had his licence revoked for 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the morning of 26th of April, [he] had slept well, felt well, and had no warning signs before leaving [home] that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was then, after turning on to Poaka Ave, that he suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure for the first time, she said.<\/p>\n

She urged the judge to find her client not guilty on both charges, including injury to ute driver Jeffrey Dawson as she categorised his injuries as \u201ctrifling\u201d, which didn\u2019t meet the threshold for the offence.<\/p>\n

\u2018Did I kill anybody?\u2019<\/p>\n

Boot quizzed the accused about filling out his various driver\u2019s licence applications and ticking \u201cno\u201d to having a medical condition that \u201ccould\u201d affect his ability to drive. <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying to me that you don\u2019t think suffering from \u2018lock-ups\u2019 … had affected your ability to drive?\u201d Boot asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI considered these lock-ups … to be similar to a panic attack as they come on due to anxiety or distress and deemed them to be a relatively controlled symptom,\u201d the man replied.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe accused’s red Volkswagen after the crash at a Whatawhata Rd property. Photos \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n

He said that by deep-breathing, or sitting down, he could regulate them.<\/p>\n

Asked whether he was now conceding he should have completed his driver\u2019s licence forms in a different way, given the form states \u201ccould\u201d affect his ability to drive, the accused replied, \u201cin hindsight, yes\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that throughout he sought \u201chelp from people around me\u201d, including his family and wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it was still unclear whether the symptoms … were real. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I put \u2018no\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boot asked him if he recalled saying, \u201cDid I kill anybody?\u201d after the crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cVaguely,\u201d he said. \u201cI do remember I was yelling in shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do vaguely remember it more so in the ambulance truck.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defendant also admitted getting further medical advice from other GPs about his condition.<\/p>\n

Boot put to him that he was trying to go around as many GPs as possible until they told him he could drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the accused replied. \u201cI wanted to make sure that I was being as safe as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018He worries about little things\u2019<\/p>\n

In her testimony, the man\u2019s now wife said although she and the defendant lived together at the time, she didn\u2019t get on with his family, so was not privy to any of the medical information given to him during his December 2020 appointment. <\/p>\n

Asked about her husband seeking medical advice three days before the crash, she said she \u201cdidn\u2019t think much of it\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBless him, but he\u2019s very over-cautious and worries about little things.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was having trouble breathing but I think it was just asthma.\u201d<\/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":"In the dock at Hamilton District Court this morning, the 27-year-old said he couldn\u2019t recall much, if anything,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[197924,1117,14105,7800,6799,197926,56606,1239,3549,15211,20106,11784,8455,6288,305,692,23420,11156,19339,197925,3523,111,43,139,153055,69,33551,12860,3271,210,1316,102],"class_list":{"0":"post-380529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-accepts","9":"tag-accused","10":"tag-applications","11":"tag-body","12":"tag-cars","13":"tag-colliding","14":"tag-conceded","15":"tag-condition","16":"tag-crash","17":"tag-drivers","18":"tag-drove","19":"tag-fatal","20":"tag-getting","21":"tag-hamilton","22":"tag-have","23":"tag-he","24":"tag-intersection","25":"tag-killing","26":"tag-licence","27":"tag-lockups","28":"tag-medical","29":"tag-new-zealand","30":"tag-news","31":"tag-newzealand","32":"tag-noted","33":"tag-nz","34":"tag-pedestrian","35":"tag-revealed","36":"tag-should","37":"tag-through","38":"tag-when","39":"tag-with"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380529","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=380529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}