Coroner Ruth Thomas said the resident saw Steile’s car cross the lane and correct, before he went out of sight.
Moments later, the resident heard a big bang.
The teen, a champion boxer and talented cricketer who was just a week out from sitting his restricted licence test, had lost control on a corner, and collided with an Isuzu truck.
Emergency services arrived at 4.34pm, CPR was carried out, but Steile could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Isuzu later said, “I thought the car was involved in a police chase because it looked to be driving around 100km an hour …”
The Serious Crash Unit analyst said it was likely Steile left the carriageway slightly, and then provided “excessive steering input to his right” to return to the seal.
The car then rotated in a clockwise direction from the northbound lane into the southbound lane, and the Isuzu collided with the passenger side of the Honda.
The analyst’s speed calculations, taken from the curving tyre marks before the point of impact, estimated Steile was travelling between 96km/h to 128km/h.
‘Very confident in his driving ability’
Steile lived at home with his mother and brother. . He worked with a scaffolding company and did charity work.
Friends described him on a Givealittle page after his death as a “ once-in-a-generation young man, an incredibly gifted soul who touched everyone he met”.
Along with being a champion boxer and talented cricketer he was a “sharp thinker, a chess lover, and a natural entrepreneur” who started college-level study a year early.
“He dreamed big, walked to the beat of his own drum, and often said he’d be a millionaire one day, and with his mind, he truly would have been.”
His mother told the coroner he was also a confident driver.
She recalled him revving the gears when her son took her for a drive on the backroads of Levin.
She said he was not speeding but “he was very confident in his driving ability”.
She also said she had made her son promise that he would only drive his car with a fully licenced passenger.
Steile Veenendaal was a champion boxer, and just a week out from sitting his restricted licence test when he was died in a road accident.
Coroner Thomas noted that at the time of the crash, Steile was not complying with the condition of his learner licence, which required him to have a fully licensed driver with him.
“I am satisfied it is more likely than not Mr Veenendaal was travelling above the 60km/h speed limit and his speed contributed to how his vehicle entered the verge on the curve, which then led to the excessive steering input, rotation and collision,” Coroner Thomas said.
She found Steile died on July 18, 2025, at Waitohu Valley Rd from multiple injuries suffered in the crash.
“Mr Veenendaal’s death is a tragic reminder of what lessons can be learned from this devastating, yet preventable accident,” she said.
She said the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) clearly detailed the conditions of a learner licence and has produced safety campaigns targeting speed as one of the leading contributors to deaths and serious injuries.
She noted that young drivers are more at risk of a serious crash in the first six to 12 months of driving solo than at any other time in their lives.
Research from 2024 shows, “New Zealand’s young drivers have the highest rates of road deaths in the OECD. These rates are substantially above older age groups in New Zealand.”
She said the NZTA “Tame your speed demon” campaign was targeted at males 18-25 years old, and aimed to change the acceptability of speeding with young drivers to resist pressures like tailgaters, being spurred on by friends, and the fear of running late.
Coroner Thomas said for learner drivers to be safe, they should only drive with a supervisor.
She reminded New Zealand road-users that “speeding is one of the deadliest issues on New Zealand roads”; “driving to the speed limit is driving your own drive”, and “don’t let anyone rush you”.
Coroner Thomas concluded by expressing her sincere condolences to Steile’s family and friends for the “sudden loss of their much-loved son, brother, family member and friend”.
Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.