Source: Worksafe New Zealand
Kerikeri Tool Hire 2015 Limited was sentenced in the Kaikohe District Court on 9 November 2026 after pleading guilty to a Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 charge for failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that people were not put at risk by its hire of a modified trailer.
Judge Shortland ordered the company to pay a $140,000 fine plus reparation to the victims of $333,833.
On 28 December 2024 the company hired a twin axle trailer and mini loader to a member of the public. It had previously extended the trailer’s ramp locking bars so heavier plant could sit further back on the deck, which altered the ramp pitch and affected the trailer’s balance and load distribution.
As the customer was driving to return the trailer and loader, it began to fishtail, crossed the centre line and hit a car head-on. The driver, Mandy Mackenzie, sustained fatal injuries. Her husband and three other passengers suffered minor injuries, another passenger was seriously injured and needed three hand surgeries, and the trailer driver suffered minor injuries.
“A family has lost a mother and a wife, and another person has been left with serious injuries, in a tragedy that could have been prevented,” says WorkSafe regional manager Brad Duggan.
“When a business changes a piece of equipment and then hires it out, it takes on responsibility for making sure it is safe for the people who use it and everyone else they encounter while it’s being used.”
Lessons to be learned
WorkSafe says equipment hirers and anyone who modifies equipment should take these lessons from the case:
- Modifications change the risk. Assess any change to equipment for its effect on safety before it is used or hired out.
- Don’t hire out until it’s confirmed safe. If there is doubt, the equipment stays in the yard.
- Don’t leave it to the customer. Hirers know their equipment’s limits and modifications and owe duties to others at risk, including anyone present where the equipment may be used.
- Review your equipment now. Check for past modifications and make sure each has been properly assessed.
“Our thoughts are with Mandy Mackenzie’s family and everyone affected by this crash,” says Brad Duggan.
“We urge every business that hires out equipment to look at what it supplies and how it has been changed, and to act before someone is hurt.”
Background
- Kerikeri Tool Hire 2015 Limited was sentenced at Kaikohe District Court on 9 November 2026.
- A fine of $140,000 was imposed and reparations of $333,833
- Kerikeri Tool Hire 2015 Limited was charged under sections 36(2)(a), 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015:
- The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/11/11/call-for-hire-companies-to-ensure-equipment-safety-after-fatal-crash/