Sean Buis, 28, died from multiple blunt-force injuries to his torso after being hit by a car driven by 38-year-old Lance Colin Robert Moore by Unity Park on July 21, 2022.
Moore pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for four years one month at a sentencing before the High Court at Dunedin in December 2023.
This month, Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale ruled a full inquiry into the death was neither “necessary or desirable”, given the circumstances of the case had been traversed in court.
Moore and Mr Buis had fallen out over a drug debt and the defendant set off for the park once he heard the victim was there.
As he arrived, he saw the man running from a gang member who had confronted him.
“As Mr Buis reached the road, Mr Moore drove his vehicle directly at him, intending to knock him down and demand repayment,” the coroner said.
“Mr Buis stumbled and fell into the roadway, where he was struck in a prone position by the vehicle.”
He was dragged for four metres before Moore fled the scene.
Paramedics administered CPR at the scene but Mr Buis’ injuries were too severe.
At his first parole hearing in March last year, Moore told the board he had been on 10-day drug bender at the time.
"I’ve been in [prison] over 16 months trying to come up with a reason for why I did what I did, but I don’t know why I did it. All I can say is I wish it never happened ... I wish I could bring him back, but I can’t," he said.
"It’s drugs. I had been sitting at home by myself for about a week and a-half. I hadn’t slept, I hadn’t eaten, I just kept taking the drugs, trying to push away the feelings."
Moore will see the Parole Board again in August.
