A charge will be dropped against a trucking company involved in the death of a road worker.<\/p>\n
Johnathon Walters was killed by a runaway truck with bad brakes in Remuera last year.<\/p>\n
Ashik Ali \u2014 who was driving the truck at the time at a roadworks site at night \u2014 pleaded guilty to manslaughter, while WorkSafe also prosecuted his company, Ashik Transport.<\/p>\n
But the agency now says it plans to withdraw that charge.<\/p>\n
“The recent guilty plea to separate police manslaughter charges satisfies the public interest test of the solicitor-general’s prosecution guidelines. For that reason, WorkSafe intends to withdraw its charge against Ashik Transport Limited.”<\/p>\n
Ashik Transport was a subcontractor to big roading company Downer.<\/p>\n
“There was no evidence to support a charge against Downer,” WorkSafe said.<\/p>\n
It refused to release details of its interactions in the case to RNZ under the Official Information Act, saying that could prejudice other legal proceedings including the coroner’s.<\/p>\n
The case against Ali outraged the trucking industry, triggering calls for greater accountability for dodgy operators and regulators.<\/p>\n
WorkSafe said it did not give any advice to its board or minister about the case.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Transport Agency \/ Waka Kotahi has rejected an industry accusation the death resulted from systemic failure.<\/p>\n
The truck remained on the road for years despite multiple safety checks and warnings to Ali.<\/p>\n