Inquest resumes into death of John Posnakidis told truck, trailer had history of brake problems

A TRUCK driver has told an inquest that there were problems with the brakes of a truck months before it was involved in a fatal crash.

A TRUCK driver has told an inquest that there were problems with the brakes of a truck months before it was involved in a fatal crash.

The inquest into the death of truck driver John Posnakidis resumed today after a break of nearly two months.

Mr Posnakidis, 42, was killed by an out-of-control truck on the South Eastern Freeway in October 2010.

Opening the inquest last year, counsel assisting the coroner, Amy Cacas, said Mr Posnakidis had died while waiting at a bus stop on the freeway.

Ms Cacas said the driver had encountered mechanical difficulties with his Volvo car carrier semi-trailer on the freeway's downtrack the night before.

He had decided to sleep in his truck cabin overnight and call for help the next morning.

She said that in the morning, Mr Posnakidis had left the truck to have a cigarette.

He was killed 10 minutes later when a Freightliner semi-trailer driven by Daniel Walsh collided into several vehicles before coming off the road and crashing into the bus stop.

Last April, Mr Walsh pleaded guilty to two aggravated counts of driving without due care, as well as multiple breaches of trucking industry regulations.

He was sentenced to five months' jail - suspended on condition of a two-year, $200 good behaviour bond - disqualified from driving for two years and fined $2500 for regulatory breaches.

Today the inquest heard from Anthony Marsden, a former truck driver with In Front Transport - the company for which Mr Walsh had worked.

Mr Marsden said that to the best of his knowledge he had driven the same rig as Mr Walsh before the crash.

He said he had driven the company's red, flat-top trailer and freightliner months before Mr Walsh's fatal trip.

"That trailer had no brakes whatsoever," he said.

"I'm not saying they didn't do anything to the brakes, I'm not saying that.

"What I am saying is the night I towed that trailer it had no brakes and they told me that I was stupid that it had just had new brakes put on it."

When asked about the brakes on the freightliner, Mr Marsden described them as "very suss".

Mr Marsden said if there was a problem with the brakes on a truck he was driving, he would not hesitate to use the arrester beds on the Freeway, even though it would cost the company money to have the truck towed.

"What if you mess up? You're much better off having a fight with your boss," Mr Marsden said.