Linda Christine Walsh (63) was charged with careless driving causing the death of 21-year-old Jaydon Millar Tackney, after a collision on November 25, 2019.
Yesterday, in the Dunedin District Court, Judge David Robinson found the charge proven, while acknowledging the victim could have been travelling at 90kmh in the 60kmh zone.
"His speed likely contributed to the extent of his injuries, but in my judgement, his excessive speed was not such that his actions became the sole or effective cause of the crash," the judge said.
"Contributory negligence on the part of Mr Tackney (even substantial contributory negligence) is not a defence to the charge."
Walsh was in Viscount Rd, at a T-intersection, planning to turn right into Brighton Rd, the court heard last week,
Mr Tackney approached from her right and she pulled out into his path, causing the Harley-Davidson rider to take evasive action.
The bike fell on to its right and both it and the victim slammed into the defendant’s Toyota Corolla’s right front corner.
A black mark above the wheel was where Mr Tackney’s helmet had made contact, police crash expert Constable Sam McGilbert said.
"One minute I was turning in and the next minute he was there in my face," Walsh told police.
"I didn’t see him, he came out of nowhere."
Police accepted Mr Tackney was exceeding the speed limit but the prosecution argued a reasonable and prudent driver would have avoided a collision.
"When he hit me I got out of the car and he was lying on the ground ... and I knelt down beside him and said ‘stay still, stay still, we’ll get someone here’," Walsh said.
Others worked to revive the biker.
"We were there for about 20 minutes doing CPR," she said.
Walsh said a vehicle parked on the side of Brighton Rd could have obscured her view of traffic from her right.
Six months after the incident, police filmed several "reconstructions", positioning vehicles where they would have been on the day, to assess the visibility.
Detective Graeme Smaill said it was clear Walsh should have inched into the intersection until she had a clear view in both directions and Judge Robinson agreed.
Pathologist Dr Leonard Wakefield said Mr Tackney suffered fractured vertebrae, nose and forearm.
One of his wrists was broken and the other hand was almost completely detached.
He was found to have a "badly lacerated" liver, a "deeply" torn spleen, haemorrhaging in both kidneys and — critically — a ruptured aorta.
Walsh will be sentenced next month.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment but Judge Robinson assessed her culpability as low and told her to expect only a modest penalty.
Counsel Joe O’Neill indicated Walsh would be open to meeting the family of the victim for a restorative justice conference.
