20/11/2025
๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ค ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐
๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ซ
A truck driver whose unsafe, unregistered vehicle killed Auckland roadworker Jonathon Walters has been jailed for three years.
Ashik Ali was sentenced in the High Court after his 20-tonne truck rolled backwards on a Remuera worksite in May 2024, crushing Walters, who died two days later. The truckโs brakes failed, and it had not had a Certificate of Fitness since 2019. It also carried a history of serious safety defects, non-operation orders, and repeated police warnings.
The Crown said Walters' death was entirely preventable and the direct result of Ali repeatedly ignoring orders to keep his vehicle roadworthy.
Waltersโ family delivered emotional victim impact statements, describing their heartbreak and ongoing fear for others working in similar jobs.
Aliโs lawyer said financial desperation led him to keep using the unsafe truck, but Justice Graham Lang ruled those pressures did not excuse putting others at risk.
The case sparked debate about broader system failures, though NZTA said Ali alone was responsible for choosing to drive a prohibited vehicle. Credit-RNZ