Coroner Woolley outlined that on the afternoon of March 13, 2023, the Fields were in their Toyota Aqua travelling along Fred Taylor Drive in Westgate, West Auckland.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Sharma was driving a large truck and trailer unit on Dunlop Rd, waiting to turn right on to Fred Taylor Drive \u2013 a busy semi-rural road with an 80km\/h speed limit. <\/p>\n
He turned right in front of the couple\u2019s car, which collided with the truck\u2019s rear.<\/p>\n
Peter Field died at the scene from severe traumatic chest injuries, and his wife died hours later in Auckland City Hospital from multiple injuries.<\/p>\n
The Police Serious Crash Unit (SCU) later found that dashcam footage from a vehicle travelling behind the Fields had recorded the crash.<\/p>\n
A scene examination confirmed that rather than braking, Field had put his foot on the accelerator. <\/p>\n
Coroner Erin Woolley released findings into the deaths of Eileen and Peter Field. Photo \/ Coroner’s office<\/p>\n
The findings recorded that the SCU said if the couple\u2019s car had continued at the same speed, the crash \u201cmay have\u201d still happened. However, if Peter Field had braked, it \u201cwould not have\u201d.<\/p>\n
The coroner detailed other findings by the SCU that may have contributed to the crash, including that Peter Field was on \u201cseveral\u201d medications that could have impaired his driving.<\/p>\n
The SCU also noted, the findings said, that his family reported an earlier driving incident in which he misjudged the distance in his garage and may have confused the brake for the accelerator, bumping into a wall.<\/p>\n
They had spoken about it as a family, including whether he should still be driving, but found it hard to bring up because of his \u201cproud demeanour\u201d, the findings stated.<\/p>\n
The design of Fred Taylor Drive was also under scrutiny, and at the time of the SCU\u2019s investigation Auckland Transport advised that the speed limit should be lower, the road widened and traffic lights installed at the intersection.<\/p>\n
\u2018Borderline\u2019<\/p>\n
During the criminal trial, it was heard that Peter Field had seen a doctor for his driving medical in July 2021, where the doctor found his fitness was \u201cborderline\u201d. <\/p>\n
On the medical certificate submitted to the NZTA for the licence renewal, the doctor ticked the option: \u201cI recommend the applicant\u2019s licence be subject to the following conditions:\u201d and wrote: \u201cReview 1 year\u201d.<\/p>\n
The coroner said in this case, the NZTA decided it \u201cwasn\u2019t appropriate\u201d to review the licence because the doctor had not listed specific conditions or concerns on the certificate.<\/p>\n
Coroner Woolley recommended that health practitioners clearly detail their concerns on medical certificates when assessing the fitness of drivers aged over 75.<\/p>\n
She said the medical certificate \u201cobviously implied\u201d that Peter Field\u2019s driving ability should be reassessed in a year and that in future, the NZTA should still contact the doctor, even when there are no specific conditions listed.<\/p>\n
The NZTA\u2019s response, recorded in the findings, listed several reasons why it wouldn\u2019t contact the medical practitioner if no specific medical concerns or conditions were listed.<\/p>\n
This included its view that it reviewed a \u201chigh volume\u201d of medical certificates every year and that health practitioners were obligated to tell the NZTA when a patient who was likely to drive was unfit.<\/p>\n
Coroner Woolley \u201cremained concerned\u201d that details written into medical certificates such as Peter Field\u2019s would not trigger contact between the NZTA and doctors.<\/p>\n
She recommended the NZTA contact medical practitioners in similar situations.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an Auckland Transport spokesperson told NZME they were finalising the process to install a 50km\/h speed limit on Fred Taylor Drive and a temporary limit was in place.<\/p>\n
They said the next stage in the continuation of \u201cfour laning\u201d the road was planned to restart mid-2027 pending \u201cland acquisition\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting, and is based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.<\/p>\n