Man admits causing cyclist's death on Hawke's Bay Expressway

Monday, 29 October 2018

Neville Tasovac's Mitsubishi Pajero shortly after it hit Ted Tamai on the Hawke's Bay Expressway.

A man whose car drifted into the sealed shoulder of a Hawke's Bay highway and fatally struck a cyclist from behind, has admitted a charge of careless driving causing death.

Cyclist Ted Tamai, 70, was hit from behind just after 10am on January 10.

He had been riding along SH50 from Flaxmere towards Hastings and was within the sealed shoulder to the left of the fog line when he was hit by Neville Tasovac's Mitsubishi Pajero.

Tasovac's car drifted into the sealed shoulder, about 300m southwest of the intersection with Omahu Rd. The front right of the car hit Tamai from behind and he was thrown onto the road.

He died of his injuries a short time later.

Tasovac, 69, told police he hadn't seen a cyclist and didn't know where he came from.

He appeared in Hastings District Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death. He will be sentenced in January.