At a inquest hearing in the Balclutha District Court yesterday, coroner David Crerar said Philippa Jane Manning (43) and her daughter, Rebecca Katherine Coulter (6), both of Waihola, died of traumatic injuries after the Mazda station wagon they were travelling in and a truck-and-trailer unit collided on State Highway 1, near Milton on February 8. The other passenger, 2-year-old Abigail Coulter, survived the crash.
Serious crash investigator Constable Kenneth Patterson said Ms Manning was travelling south towards Balclutha when she failed to negotiate a gentle left-hand bend, driving into the path of the Kenworth truck.
The crash scene examination showed there was no evidence of faults in the road and tests of Ms Manning's vitreous humour gave a range of alcohol levels from 210mg-368mg per millilitre.
Mr Crerar said the vitreous humour, or fluid from the eyeball, was an excellent indicator of alcohol intoxication and the average reading of 307mg per millilitre showed Ms Manning was well over the legal limit of 80mg.
Scott Hutton, a truck driver for Mainfreight, told the coroner he was driving from Balclutha to Palmerston when a southbound car coming towards him turned a slight corner and crossed the centre line. The car hit the truck and both vehicles caught fire.
Mr Crerar assured Mr Hutton he was not responsible for the crash.
"You did everything you could and should have done."
The girls' father, Donald Coulter, asked police to read a complaint made by another road-user about Ms Manning's driving an hour and a-half before the fatal crash.
The driver of a car travelling behind Ms Manning's vehicle called the *555 traffic complaints line about 8 o'clock the night of the crash. He said the weather had been "appalling" in places, and Ms Manning's Mazda was constantly weaving across the road.
The driver followed the car north from the Kaitangata turn-off on State Highway 1 between Balclutha and Milton until it turned off on to a residential street in Waihola. His statement said he could not identify whether the driver was male or female, or if there were any passengers.
Mr Crerar said the *555 system created complaints about drivers by other drivers, and was not used as evidence in court.
Mr Coulter said Abigail was recovering well from February's crash.
The coroner will release his written findings at a later date.
