Philip (Phil) James Cox (58), a passenger in a Toyota car being driven from Roxburgh to Dunedin, was killed when it and a Toyota Hiace van collided head on at 10.15pm on Saturday.
Mr Cox, a Dunedin oral surgeon, died at the scene.
The car in which he was travelling was being driven by Arthur Leslie Blondell (59), of Dunedin, Sergeant Ian Kerrisk, of Alexandra, said in a statement yesterday. Mr Blondell was taken to Dunedin Hospital with moderate injuries following the crash.
Sgt Kerrisk said police had completed their examination of the scene but had yet to examine the vehicles involved in the crash. Witnesses and people involved in the incident had to be interviewed and give statements before police could ascertain what happened, he said.
"For the sake of everyone involved we will try to get this matter resolved as soon as possible, but that's dependent on the completion of witness statements and scene and vehicle examinations.
"I would expect it would be several weeks rather than months," Sgt Kerrisk said.
A 22-year-old Vanuatu national involved in the crash was processed for drink-driving at the scene and charged with driving a motor vehicle on Ettrick-Raes Junction Rd while under the influence of drink to such an extent as to be incapable of proper control of the vehicle. Yannick Rammick Tevi had been working as a fruit picker in the Roxburgh area and was driving the van. He was taken into custody after the crash and appeared briefly in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
Defence counsel Mike Newell, of Dunedin, asked for Tevi to be remanded in custody without plea and by consent, to next appear in the court on March 26. Tevi made no application for bail. Sgt Kerrisk said further charges could be laid in relation to the crash, pending the outcome of police investigations.
