A toxicology analysis report found methamphetamine and a \u201csmall amount of alcohol\u201d \u2013 below the legal limit to drive \u2013 in Wood\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n
Scene and witness evidence indicated Wood was fatigued, as he had been \u201cworking very hard\u201d before the crash and had \u201clittle to no sleep\u201d before driving. <\/p>\n
On the morning of the crash, a member of the public found a ute crashed down the bank on Wharepapa South Rd and called emergency services.<\/p>\n
A Serious Crash Unit analyst found Wood was driving west on Wharepapa South Rd sometime between 4.03am and 8.20am.<\/p>\n
After failing to negotiate a moderate left bend, the vehicle crossed the centreline and left the road into a downward-sloping grass paddock.<\/p>\n
The ute stopped when it hit a boulder.<\/p>\n
Damage to the ute was \u201crelatively minor\u201d but Wood was not wearing his seatbelt.<\/p>\n
The analyst advised there were no road or environmental factors, the ute was in \u201cgood order\u201d, and speed was not a factor.<\/p>\n
He believed fatigue exacerbated by methamphetamine and impairment were the primary causative factors of the crash.<\/p>\n
The analyst also said Wood would have \u201clikely\u201d survived if he had been wearing his seatbelt.<\/p>\n
Coroner Telford said it was a \u201ctragic situation involving yet another death of one of our young men\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said Wood\u2019s family cared deeply for him and missed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this situation all the more painful in my view is the reality that it was so avoidable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coroner Telford said it was widely known that using drugs before driving was \u201cextremely dangerous\u201d and a leading cause of death on New Zealand roads.<\/p>\n
It was \u201cequally well known\u201d that wearing a seat belt was a \u201ckey protective step\u201d every driver must take.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, what is not widely discussed is the role of fatigue in our road-related deaths; fatigue is often exacerbated by alcohol or other drug use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coroner Telford referenced Northland 6-year-old Joshwyn Reihana-Ruka-Wikaira, who died in a car crash<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n Her mother, the driver, was impaired by alcohol and fatigue, and Joshwyn was incorrectly restrained in the car.<\/p>\n Coroner Telford concurred with the analyst that fatigue and drug use were the primary contributory factors in Wood\u2019s death.<\/p>\n He offered his condolences to Wood\u2019s family and to those who knew and loved him.<\/p>\n