Death trap on wheels
By BELINDA FEEK - Waikato Times | Friday, 03 October 2008
MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times
UNROADWORTHY:The interior of the Mazda 323 involved in Tuesday's fatal crash at Te Awamutu. A steering wheel made out of an old wheel rim was one of the many unsafe modifications.
A steering wheel fashioned from an old wheel rim on an already unsafe car may have played a grisly role in Tuesday's fatal smash at Te Awamutu.
Matthew Shannon McDonald, 23, of Te Awamutu was the passenger in a Mazda 323 which crashed after crossing the centre line on Station Rd and careering through a solid wooden barrier. He died at the scene.
The driver and owner of the car, a 19-year-old Kihikihi man, remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's Intensive Care Unit.
Waikato road policing manager Leo Tooman revealed further details of the crash and the car yesterday.
Mr Tooman said the car had been "tow started" and had taken just two left turns before the fateful turn into Station Rd just before 7pm on Tuesday.
The car failed to take a slight bend, crossed the centre line and crashed through a solid wooden barrier before coming to stop against a concrete power-pole used to supply electricity to the main trunk railway line. The pair were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the car on impact. Police said that fact made the job of identifying who was driving the car difficult.
Mr Tooman said the car had so many defects and modifications it was "a disaster waiting to happen".
It had been ordered off the road in December 2005 due to a number of uncertified suspension modifications.
"On this occasion the vehicle had been towed to get it started. It had an RX7 motor for a Mazda 3 which is not compatible at all."
Mr Tooman said somebody had fashioned a steering wheel using the rim from a wheel and the spokes of an old steering wheel.
Sometime during the crash the rim has become detached from the spikes, he said. "The spikes were still on the steering column and they were like three knives sticking out from the steering column."
It was yet to be confirmed how much, if at all, the pair were injured by the spokes.
The car's wheels were also mismatched with two mags on the front and two old steel-pressed wheels on the back.
The wheel nuts on the rear wheels were also worn.
While it was yet to be confirmed, Mr Tooman believed speed was a contributing factor in the accident.
Both the vehicle's warrant of fitness and registration certificates had been removed from the front windscreen.
Mr Tooman said the tragedy served a reminder for other car enthusiasts attempting to modify their car.
The funeral for Mr McDonald, understood to be a car painter, will be held in Te Awamutu at Alexandra House Chapel from 11am tomorrow.
DISASTER WAITING
Police say the car had:
A modified wheel rim for a steering wheel
Lowered suspension
Mismatched wheels
Mismatched motor
Rust
It was:
Unregistered, unwarranted
Ordered off the road in 2005
And occupants were not wearing seatbelts
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