He recalled asking the cops: “Was it that bloody car again?”
AJ said Potter had called him weeks earlier in a panic after an apparent electrical fault saw him trapped in his 2018 Kia Niro.
“Because I live in Napier I rushed over to Hastings, and he had managed to get out. I think he might have kicked the back door open as it was just ajar.”
AJ said he examined the vehicle and found it impossible to open its doors from inside.
“I couldn’t open the doors. None of the doors. I couldn’t open them from the inside,” he said. “These were all electronic locks.”
AJ said with AA’s assistance they charged the battery, tightened terminal connections, and with power restored and the car running, sent Potter on his way.
Weeks later, on New Year’s Eve, AJ fears the fault recurred.
“We just thought that that was going to be okay, not realising it might lock him in again. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a cellphone with him the next time.”
Potter, 72, was born in Auckland in 1950 but had become a Hawke’s Bay fixture after moving to the region in 1972 and later starting The Chef’s Garden, a 20ha farm that supplied a range of organic vegetables to local restaurants.
He had been a founding and regular member of the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market – said to have rarely missed a Sunday – since its beginnings in 2000.
Friends and family of Potter who spoke to the Herald expressed shock at the circumstances of his death, and now – years later with the Coroner yet to rule on the cause of death or even decide whether to investigate further – want answers.
His sister Janice Rhodes said: “We as a family have sort of wondered what was going on with the coroner’s office, actually, because we’ve just heard nothing.”
AJ said: “He was my best friend. He was my business partner, and it was quite tragic. It’s still a little bit sore to even talk about even though it’s been nearly three years.”
Despite years since his passing, an official determination on the cause of Potter’s death has yet to be made.
New Zealand Police, who attended the scene following the discovery of Potter’s body, said: “Police undertook inquiries on behalf of the Coroner. For any further comment you’d have to approach the Coroner’s office.”
A spokesperson for the Coroner’s Office said: “Unfortunately at this stage no dates are set and no decision has been made as to which pathway this case will follow.”
Pressed on explanations for the delay, the Coroner’s Office sent through a lengthy factsheet citing, amongst many factors for delays, historic under-resourcing.
“Coroners have struggled to keep the numbers of inquiries static, let alone decrease them. This has resulted in a backlog of older inquiries (older than two years), which has meant that, at times, families and whānau have been waiting a considerable time to receive the coroner’s findings,” the factsheet said.
Questions about the case of Potter sent by email and phone to the dealership that sold Potter the Kia – The Car Company in Hastings – went unanswered.
Similarly, questions sent to Kia New Zealand’s corporate office and to a network support manager listed as a point of contact by the New Zealand Transport Agency were also not responded to this week.
NZTA’s website reports that in May 2024 a voluntary recall was issued by Kia for some Niro models produced between 2015 and 2022 over potential issues with the hydraulic clutch actuator that may lead to short-circuits.
The 711-page car manual for the Kia Niro features instructions to exit in an emergency via the boot by activating a manual tailgate safety release lever. This advice is on page 161 and requires occupants to climb through the car and fold down the rear seats.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, who runs the Dog and Lemon car review website, said the circumstances of Potter’s death were “highly unusual”.
“Clearly a series of things have gone wrong. Normally, none of these problems would have caused such a tragedy, but this was not a normal situation,” he said.
Matthew-Wilson noted several international examples of modern automotive security features, including door deadbolts, that had trapped occupants inside when power failed.
He said most vehicles had manual opening levers for use when power failed, but these were often difficult to find if not known about and if occupants were panicking.
“Anyone who’s worried that a loved one might get trapped inside a car should buy them an emergency escape kit,” he said.
This advice comes too late for Potter. And for AJ, who still struggles to come to grips with what happened to his friend nearly three years ago.
“He was in the car all day New Year’s Day, and he was found the day after. It’s crazy stuff. It’s pretty horrible. I still cannot, I can’t get over it. I was living in denial for quite a while: This could not happen. This just couldn’t happen,” he said.
Matt Nippert is an Auckland-based investigations reporter covering white-collar and transnational crimes and the intersection of politics and business. He has won more than a dozen awards for his journalism – including twice being named Reporter of the Year – and joined the Herald in 2014 after having spent the decade prior reporting from business newspapers and national magazines.
