Coroner blames slippery SH1 surface for 2018 fatal crash, urges stalled safety upgrades
A coroner concluded that a slick section of State Highway 1 helped cause the 2018 death of Kellyanne Pattinson and recommended reviving the postponed safety improvements.
Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame determined that a deteriorated stretch of State Highway 1 in south Canterbury contributed to the January 2018 collision that killed 31-year-old Kellyanne Pattinson, a cook and caregiver. The accident occurred when a northbound Bidfood truck slid across three lanes after the tar-bleed surface of the left lane became slick in wet conditions, leaving the driver no time to avoid the impact. Police investigations found no evidence of driver negligence and no charges were laid.
The New Zealand Transport Agency had been aware of the road’s poor condition, documenting five loss-of-control crashes nearby between 2012 and 2017 and installing a “slippery when wet” sign, yet it did not undertake substantive repairs before the fatal crash. Post-incident measures included resealing the lane, adding rumble strips and extra signage, but a larger safety improvement project featuring continuous median barriers was cancelled in 2024 after concerns from local residents and a decision to prioritize lower-cost measures.
The coroner recommended that the original barrier plan be revived to address the ongoing safety risk. NZTA acknowledged the findings but cited funding constraints as the reason the project has not progressed.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the coroner’s finding that the NZ Transport Agency knew about the hazardous condition of State Highway 1 and failed to act adequately, but the right-leaning coverage adds detail about the limited mitigation measures and calls for a median barrier.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the story as the agency’s failure to address a known poor-state lane that contributed to the fatal crash.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage frames the story as the agency’s prior knowledge of the hazard, minimal mitigation (only a sign), and the need for stronger safety upgrades like a median barrier.
The right emphasises
- NZ Transport Agency knew the stretch was hazardous and had only resealed the lane two months before the crash
- the only immediate mitigation was a “slippery when wet” sign
- the coroner urged the installation of a median barrier
