Obituary
XSTRATA KILLS FAMILY MAN
The Unlawful Killing of Mr Dave Patten on Thursday 7th January 2010 at 4:50pm on Wybong Road by Xstrata Mangoola P/L DEMANDS A FULL CORONIAL INQUIRY to examine ALL the FACTS including the legality of Xstrata commencing Mine Construction prior to the completion of the Wybong Road Upgrade in breach of Consent Conditions and the contribution of Xstrata's decision to the death of Dave Patten.
Wybong Road (West) (Windows Media Player Required - 4Mb .wmv)
With Regret Wybong Action Group must report that Mr Dave Patten, 55 years old, of Maitland has been killed at 4:40pm on Thursday Jan 7th on Wybong Road West in a collison between his utility and an Xstrata oversize vehicle carrying a mining excavator to the Xstrata Mangoola Mine Site.
Wybong Community assessment indicates that:
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Xstrata's knowing misrepresentation to NSW Dept of Planning of the conditional support given 9 November 2009 by Muswellbrook Shire Council (subject to an approved Construction Traffic Management Plan and the Conditions of Consent) for Heavy Oversize Mine Construction Loads to be hauled via Wybong Road (West) prior to the completion of the Wybong Rd (East) Upgrade,
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NSW Dept of Planning FAILURE to enforce its Conditions of Consent or CONFIRM Xstrata's knowingly false and misleading claims to Approval having been granted by Muswellbrook Shire Council,
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the FAILURE of the RTA to properly regulate the haulage of oversize loads [in relation to road width classifications],
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the FAULTY Oversize Heavy Loads Management System adopted by Xstrata Mangoola NOT ensuring the movement of traffic in advance of an Oversized Heavy Load using more tha 50% of the available trafficable road reserve had stopped and been parked in a safe location,
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the narrow sealed width of Wybong Road (West) [5.2m - 6.2m] and 5.9-6.0m at the collision site,
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the curvature and vertical mis-alignment of Wybong Road (West) at the collision site creating a blind spot in both directions,
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the lack of road verges clear of obstacles and concealed drainage pits and abutments for the length of of Wybong Road (West) including at the collision site,
ensured that a collison involving an Xstrata Heavy Oversize Load resulting in death or serious injury would occur on Wybong Road (West).
DAVE Patten slammed on the brakes as he approached an oversized semi-trailer at Wybong, but the Maitland man couldn't avoid a collision.
[as there was grossly inadequate warning of the extreme width of the oncoming load [4m] compared to the road width [5.9m], there was nowhere for him to go, the road was too narrow, the load too wide and the speeds too fast. Ed]
Mr Patten, 55, was killed in the crash near Muswellbrook on Thursday.
Sergeant Peter Stace from the Newcastle Crash Investigation Unit said "it appeared the ute braked suddenly as it approached the truck,,, clipped the front of the semi-trailer which was travelling in the opposite direction carrying a mining excavator,, glancing the semi-trailer,, one of the truck's drive wheels and the bucket of the excavator... (The truck has) been examined by RTA inspectors and complies with all the regulations..." (from report by Ben Smee, Newcastle Herald)
Local residents, road surveys and Council Engineers have consistently warned since 1996 of the dangers posed in Xstrata Mangoola Coal Mine being permitted to use Wybong Rd West for heavy vehicle transport without a major road upgrade but were over-ruled by the Dept of Planning, Muswellbrook Shire Council and the RTA in July 2008.
The heavy oversize vehicle delivery route commenced limited use in Dec 2009 with major loads to commence from Jan 2010.
- How many more people will die on Wybong Road West so that Xstrata Mangoola can maximise its profit?
- How complicit and culpable are NSW Planning, Muswellbrook Shire Council and the RTA with Xstrata Mangoola, having been duly forewarned, in the creation of circumstances contributing to this death?
- If this accident had occured during school term it may well have involved, at 4:40pm, a loaded school bus.
- Mobile phone (GSM) coverage of the accident area is nil, there are no public phones and few occupied dwellings.
Mr Pattens vehicle was AT ALL TIMES WELL WITHIN HIS MARKED LANE leaving the questions to be answered:
- "How wide was the Oversize Heavy Load?" 3.4m after collision with load bucket,, est 4m before collision. (Road is 5.9m wide max - with NO edge).
- "How Fast was the Oversize Heavy Load travelling?" 80-100km/hr
- What distance did the Oversize Heavy Load take to stop? Oversize Heavy Load stopped 120m from point of collision.
- "Did the Oversize Heavy Load brake prior to collision?" NO
- "Did Xstrata escort vehicles STOP and PARK oncoming traffic to avoid collision?" NO
- Were the Oversize Heavy Load Escort drivers RTA licenced and certified? No. They were untrained Xstrata employees.
- "How far in advance of the load were the Xstrata Oversize Heavy Load Escort vehicles?" 1km +, None within 500m.
- Were the Oversize Heavy Load Escort vehicles immediately identifiable as such? NO. The Escort vehicles were largely indistinguishable from the Xstrata vehicles used on the Eastern roadworks that have flashing lights operating without cause.
- "Why was the Oversize Heavy Load using the entire carriageway and not keeping left?" The road is 5.9m wide. There is no continuous road edge that is not overgrown and containing (concealed) drainage pits to 3m deep . A 4m load cannot be passed on such a road unless one or other vehicle is stopped.
The Facts show the above as pivotal factors in the unlawful killing of Dave Patten and identify Xstrata Mangoola P/L, NSW Dept of Planning & NSW RTA as prime promoters.
The Question is What will be done to ensure the such an accident never occurs again? The answer if left to Xstrata is NOTHING. Xstrata did not even ensure that diesel spilt the width of the roadway for nearly 20m and debris in the long roadside grass had been removed prior to declaring the road re-opened. Those tasks were left to Mayor Martin Rush and Council Executive staff inspecting the site several hours later.
Further Heavy Oversize Loads have already been brought along Wybong Road (West) under Xstrata's existing failed procedures and road conditions remain UNSAFE for Heavy Oversize Load haulage.
Wybong Action Group call upon the NSW Judiciary to ensure that ALL the circumstances contributing to Mr Patten's death are investigated by a FULL CORONIAL INQUIRY and awaits the outcome.
The funeral service for Mr Patten took place Thurs 14th Jan 2010 at Abermain, NSW, attended by a large number of family, friends and community. By all accounts Dave Patten was a popular, friendly, generous and well regarded father of five children and six grandchildren and friend to many.
Vale Dave Patten.