By Ric Stevens* of
Photo: 123rf
- A police officer gave Christopher Connell a lift and told him not to walk on the highway at night
- Connell continued to do so and was hit by a ute and killed
- Coroner Ian Telford said he died from multiple injuries in an accident that was "highly preventable"
A police officer warned a man not to walk on the highway in the dark less than two hours before he was hit by a utility vehicle and killed.
In what may have been the last conversation before he died, Christopher Michael Connell told the officer who had picked him up and taken him to Dannevirke that he "loved life".
Coroner Ian Telford, in a findings decision released on Friday, said the accident that killed Connell in the early hours of 15 April, 2024, was "highly preventable".
He said the cause of Connell's death was from multiple injuries sustained as a pedestrian in a motor vehicle incident.
Connell was struck by the ute shortly before 4am while hitchhiking along the highway on his way towards Hawke's Bay, where he was due to take up a truck-driving job.
Three other drivers had reported him before he was hit, one of whom had to take evasive action, and a police officer had earlier picked him up and taken him to a hotel in Dannevirke.
Coroner Telford's decision said Connell, 43, of Masterton, had four children but appeared to be estranged from them and his ex-wife when he died.
Nine days before his death, police had taken him to hospital after a "rapid and significant" decline in his mental health. He was in a "highly dysregulated state" and suffering from paranoid delusions.
Within a few days, however, after medical treatment and a review by the mental health team, he appeared to be back to his usual self and it was agreed he did not need further treatment.
He had been stressed from losing his job and tensions within his family relationships, and it was believed the crisis was brought on by sleep deprivation. He was given advice about managing insomnia.
Connell was then offered a job in Hawke's Bay and told his uncle he would get there by hitchhiking.
At about 1.15am on 15 April last year, a motorist driving between Woodville and Dannevirke reported to police that he had taken evasive action to avoid a man walking in the middle of the road, wearing a black hoodie, black pants, a black backpack and headphones.
Another driver reported the man, again north of Woodville, half an hour later.
A police officer found Connell and drove him to the Mangatera Hotel on High St, Dannevirke.
Man's manner 'quite jovial'
The officer said Connell's manner was "quite jovial and he had a few jokes".
During the drive, the officer discussed the danger of walking on the highway in the dark and told Connell not to do so.
Connell responded that he would not, as he "loved life".
At about 3.15am, police were again informed that someone was walking along the fog line with the flow of the traffic on the highway between Dannevirke and Matamau.
At 3.51am, a man driving a utility vehicle in the northbound lane dipped his headlights for a truck coming the other way.
As he passed the truck, he heard a loud bang and his airbags went off. He stopped and called emergency services as he realised he may have hit someone.
A passing truck driver stopped and found Connell on the road about 30m from the point of impact.
Paramedics verified he was dead at the scene.
"Connell's death ... serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of exercising significant caution when walking on or near any road," Coroner Telford said.
"It goes without saying that walking on roads without footpaths at night should be avoided completely. If this is not possible, a light source should be carried and bright clothing worn."
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME's Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke's Bay.
* This story originally appeared in theNew Zealand Herald.
