A driver who died when his car flipped on a Dunedin motorway off-ramp was a sad reminder of the perils of speeding, a coroner says.
Rhys James McKenzie, a 33-year-old road worker, was not wearing a seatbelt on April 18, 2022, and was ejected from his unwarranted vehicle during the crash.
He died from multiple blunt-force trauma Coroner Marcus Elliott concluded in a decision released yesterday.
Because there were no issues with the road or conditions, the coroner was unable to make any recommendations.
"Mr McKenzie’s death is another example of the risks of driving at an excessive speed," he said.
Mr McKenzie drove to a mate’s house at 7.30pm on the day of his death, he had a beer and left an hour later.
His friend said: "I assumed he would be going home.
"Rhys was his normal self when he left my address. He was the happiest I had seen him in a while."
At 9pm, his car was found on its roof on the Concord off-ramp. The man’s body was found nearby and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Southern District crash investigator Senior Constable Jack McGilbert’s report detailed the sequence of events.
After Mr McKenzie negotiated a left-hand curve at the crest of Lookout Point hill, he lost control of the vehicle.
It rotated anticlockwise and skidded off the road to the left on to a steep grass bank which caused it to roll.
Snr Const McGilbert found the driver was travelling at about 100kmh in the 60kmh zone.
Mr McKenzie was not wearing a seatbelt and an inspection of the Toyota found its brakes did not meet warrant-of-fitness standards.
The driver’s side airbag did not deploy.
The coroner noted Mr McKenzie’s driving history featured 61 traffic infringements in the preceding 17 years, which included speeding and breaching the terms of his licence.
He had been suspended from driving five times.
A toxicology report also found tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Mr McKenzie’s blood — the active constituent in cannabis.
The coroner said the "distorted perception" that may have caused could have contributed to the crash, but that the primary issue was his speed.
He offered his condolences to Mr McKenzie’s family.
