' Six died after driver fell asleep '

Back

FIVE young people had been partying all night before their car crashed on the way
home killing them and the driver's infant son, a Ruatoria inquest was told.
Coroner Hugh Hughes ruled that high levels of cannabis and alcohol, driver fatigue,
combined with the driver's limited driving experience and the weather, contributed to the crash.

But the factor that led to the deaths was that none of the six was wearing restraints.
Makere Kuikui Reedy, 23, the driver, her son, Hamuera Braybrook-Reedy, 2, Tania Tanja Maraki- Reedy, 16, Toni Marteena Grace, 17, Heni Nohoaka Nihoniho Tuhura- Walsh, 16, and Hamuera Boyboy Reedy-Harrison, 22, all of Ruatoria, died instantly of massive injuries when the two-door Honda Integra hit a tree.
A friend testified they had all gone to an all-night birthday party in Te Puia Springs, 25 Kilometres south of Ruatoria.

Constable Peter Easton said the crashed car was discovered at 5.50am by a nearby resident. He estimated it had been travelling between 90 kmh and 110 kmh.
Pathology tests showed Miss Reedy was almost three times over the legal alcohol limit and had smoked the equivalent of one cannibis cigarette.
The absence of any signs of braking before the crash suggested that she had fallen asleep at the wheel.