Apology after body fell from hearse at busy intersection

A funeral home in New Zealand has apologised after a body strapped to a gurney fell from a hearse in pouring rain at a busy intersection. The body fell from the hearse at the intersection in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe on Tuesday. Motorists and nearby workers saw the corpse, strapped to the gurney and covered in a sheet, lying on the road in the rain. It was then loaded back into the hearse by the driver and bystanders. Pacific Memorials co-owner Carina Zhang said the body had fallen out as it was being transported by the firm.

The corpse had been inspected immediately and was unharmed, said Ms Zhang. She said the incident was "unfortunate" but the company had done everything it could to prevent it recurring. "It was a really bad accident. The driver involved really was shocked. The body was okay; nothing happened to it. It was really a very unfortunate accident. We do feel so bad." The hearse had now been repaired, Ms Zhang said. "It was the latch on the back, they said." Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand chief executive Katrina Shanks said Pacific Memorials was not one of its 100-plus accredited members.



"Unfortunately, there are operational failures on occasion and it sounds like this is one of those situations. It's extremely upsetting for the family for something like this to happen and my expectation will be that the funeral director is doing everything it can to make it easier for the family." Ms Shanks said the industry was not currently regulated, but a report by the Law Commission was due to be completed in October that might introduce legal operational standards. The incident was not reported to the police. Ms Zhang said that she contacted the family of the body, that was being transferred from a hospital to the funeral home.

"We have contacted the family and apologised and they have been really wonderful. They expressed their understanding and they accepted our apology. We also contacted some families that we are going to serve in this coming week whose funeral might under the influence of this news. So far all our families are very generous and understanding. We also want to apologise to the public, especially those people involved on the scene. I believe it might be a horrible scene for them to see and also to the general public who might be offended by something like this." Ms Zhang said the hearse's driver was very upset by the incident and was being supported by the company.