Robin Coutanche, a 70-year-old father and grandfather, died on 1 November after an elderly driver ploughed into the back of his tractor on a straight road.
The collision, which occurred close to Mr Coutanche’s home in Taranaki, in the country’s north island, caused the tractor’s wheels to lock and it to flip over and crush him. He died at the scene.
Concluding the case, Judge Chris Sygrove ordered 81-year-old driver Peter Arthur Foreman, who was named for the first time after a suppression order was lifted, to be placed into a secure mental health facility because of his advancing dementia.
Two mental health reports found that the defendant was unfit to plead to a charge of causing death by careless driving.
Mr Sygrove said Foreman was ‘entirely to blame’ for the death of Mr Coutanche, who used to live in St Lawrence before emigrating to New Zealand six years before he died.
During the case prosecutors had told the court that Foreman had been caught driving twice since the fatal incident and needed to be detained to prevent further risk to the public.
In a statement Mr Coutanche’s family said: ‘Robin or Rob was a best friend and husband to Ann. He was a loving father and grandfather who is constantly missed – not a day goes by when we don’t think about him.
