NZ man dies| tree falls on ute Queenstown

Eric Frei · 14th September 2009, 09:58 PM

Wrong place at the wrong time, sadly this man died and when looking at the wreck what's the chances of it!?

Man dies when tree blown onto vehicle near Queenstown | NATIONAL News

Quote:

A man has died in a freak accident near Queenstown as gale force winds tore through Central Otago.

He was driving between Queenstown and Arrowtown when a poplar tree was blown over, crushing the cab of his utility and killing him instantly.

The incident happened on Lower Shotover Road about 12.30pm Monday, Inspector Rick Jury, of southern police communications says.

Police are investigating but say it appears he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Falling tree causes death | Stuff.co.nz

Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2009 : 09 : 14 : Fatal gust blows tree onto ute

Quote:

A 57-year-old man was killed near Queenstown on Monday when gale-force winds brought down a tree on the ute he was driving.

The accident happened on Lower Shotover Road, between Queenstown and Arrowtown, just before 1pm Monday.

Sergeant Steve Watt says there are indications that the ute driver braked to avoid the tree as it fell, but it landed on the front of the cab.

By late afternoon the police had released no further details, but the road, which was closed for several hours, had been reopened.

Gale-force north-westerlies buffeted large areas of the South Island throughout Monday, bringing with them unusually warm temperatures. The Queenstown police have had three reports of falling trees.

Firefighters have also contained a 6ha forest blaze at Berwick, southwest of Dunedin, but are concerned it could flare up again.

MetService was expecting the gusts to continue till at least midnight.

Bruce Hopf · 15th September 2009, 05:25 PM

Man that is sad. A few months ago, something similar happened a mile from me. A tree blew over, across the road (like this one) in a high wind, and struck a pickup truck, just behind the cab, crushing the box of the truck. There were minor injuries, but nothing serious. Bruce.

Eric Frei · 9th October 2009, 09:16 PM

Arborist gave trees clean bill of health | Stuff.co.nz

Quote:

The rotting tree that fell, killing a driver near Queenstown last week, might have been checked by the council about three years ago and given a clean bill of health.

In an arborist report to the Queenstown Lakes District Council made public on Tuesday, Asplundh contractor manager Rob Slater said the ageing tree was visibly rotting and that had contributed to its fall.

Farmer Russell Liggett was driving on Lower Shotover Rd metres from his home when the poplar tree fell during strong winds, crushing the cab of his ute.

Last week, the council said no concerns had ever been raised about the 66 poplars lining Lower Shotover Rd but this week chief executive Duncan Field said an arborist had investigated some of the trees in 2006.

"It was decided it was OK," he said.

He was not sure who the arborist was but said the council was not legally liable for the driver's death, despite being responsible for all trees in the district's road reserves.

"No-one has got any liability, it's an unfortunate accident."

Contrary to conclusions in 2006, Mr Slater said in his report at least 85 per cent of the trees were decaying and all 66 should be removed or the road closed indefinitely. "The ... poplar trees in Lower Shotover Rd do pose a serious threat to both pedestrians and the road below them."

The trees were between 80 and 120 years old and poplars did not age well, he said.

The council also confirmed that the trees were on public land, having previously said it might have been the responsibility of a private landowner.

Council reserves manager Gordon Bailey will present a report to a full council meeting this month recommending all 66 trees be removed, costing between $50,000 and $80,000.

While Mr Slater said the poplar snapped partly because of old age in part of the trunk where dry rot was prolific, Mr Bailey will tell the council it was a "freak accident", pointing out that healthy trees could also fall in strong winds.

Mr Bailey will also raise the idea of district-wide audit of roadside trees but said such an exercise would be expensive.

Queenstown Lakes District has 800km of rural roads and thousands of trees.

Garry Brockley · 10th October 2009, 10:24 AM

looks like someones going to make a fortune assessing the 800km of trees and then recomending thier friends to do the take downs.
how come they dont know who assessed them? the details should be on the assessment sheet bloody cover up.

Sean Freeman · 10th October 2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

someones going to make a fortune assessing the 800km of trees

Whilst you might be right, who knows what scope will be defined....the essence of legal responsibility in NZ, here in Oz and in the UK is reasonable practicability....ultimately I would expect it would come down to the methodology being applied by the assessor/s.

Eric Frei · 10th October 2009, 04:10 PM

Is 3 years in that location for that species relevent?

I have no experience with the "poplar" but jeez it gets a bad wrap all over the globe as a decaying POS tree.

3 years, 5 years, 10 years.

So what are we now, crystal balls?

I say that to make people think. Things change, weather changes, drought, flood, insect attack, fungal outbreaks etc. 3 years of drought or flooding rains will have an impact upon trees, their environment and soil.

Places along the Brisbane river here had land slips, never before, first time for everything eh.

We can only assess the now, engineers the same. What happens tomorrow is to some degree unknown however the things we assess are living unlike concrete and steel.

I doubt the relevance of a 3 year old report with that location and that species. A few days ago a lady contacted me concerned about limbs dropping from her "ghost gum" (everyone calls white-ish trunked gums that but it narrows it down to 20 species on a good day), what was it? A grey gum, say no more, some species are just more likely than others to do stuff, and poplars have a reputation for being junk. So now we are junk managers, that's another interesting topic.

Time to put the garbage out!

Sean Freeman · 10th October 2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

I doubt the relevance of a 3 year old report

A good point...it would be hard to expect anyone to be able to make useful recommendations beyond the next growing season for the tree being assessed too many unknowns.

15th September 2009, 05:25 PM	#2
Bruce Hopf Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: North of Sebringville, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,176	Re: NZ man dies\| tree falls on ute Queenstown Man that is sad. A few months ago, something similar happened a mile from me. A tree blew over, across the road (like this one) in a high wind, and struck a pickup truck, just behind the cab, crushing the box of the truck. There were minor injuries, but nothing serious. Bruce. __________________ McCulloch chain saws 1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's, 2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener, 1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver 2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10 Stihl chain saws 2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084, Strunk chain saws 1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

10th October 2009, 10:24 AM	#4
Garry Brockley Bayside Tree Care Brisbane Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Aus Posts: 1,649	Re: NZ man dies\| tree falls on ute Queenstown looks like someones going to make a fortune assessing the 800km of trees and then recomending thier friends to do the take downs. how come they dont know who assessed them? the details should be on the assessment sheet bloody cover up. __________________ My business:- Brisbane Bayside Tree Care

10th October 2009, 04:10 PM	#6
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,820	Re: NZ man dies\| tree falls on ute Queenstown Is 3 years in that location for that species relevent? I have no experience with the "poplar" but jeez it gets a bad wrap all over the globe as a decaying POS tree. 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. So what are we now, crystal balls? I say that to make people think. Things change, weather changes, drought, flood, insect attack, fungal outbreaks etc. 3 years of drought or flooding rains will have an impact upon trees, their environment and soil. Places along the Brisbane river here had land slips, never before, first time for everything eh. We can only assess the now, engineers the same. What happens tomorrow is to some degree unknown however the things we assess are living unlike concrete and steel. I doubt the relevance of a 3 year old report with that location and that species. A few days ago a lady contacted me concerned about limbs dropping from her "ghost gum" (everyone calls white-ish trunked gums that but it narrows it down to 20 species on a good day), what was it? A grey gum, say no more, some species are just more likely than others to do stuff, and poplars have a reputation for being junk. So now we are junk managers, that's another interesting topic. Time to put the garbage out! __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

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