Truckie had no hope of avoiding body on road
A truck driver had no hope of avoiding a woman he ran over after she was thrown from her car in a high-speed crash, a coroner has ruled.
Amanda Louise Katherine Sale, 25, died after she crashed on State Highway 57 between Shannon and Levin at 10.55pm on August 28, 2017.
She was thrown from the car, then run over by a truck driven by David Marshall.
She was more than three times the drink-driving limit and also had traces of cannabis in her system.
An inquest into her death was held in November to determine exactly how she died – from the impact of the crash, hitting the road, or being run over.
In his findings, released yesterday, coroner Tim Scott said being run over would have undoubtedly killed Sale – her skull was crushed – but blaming Marshall would be wrong.
Sale’s partner, Tajinder Singh, had said she drank a bottle of whisky that night, and needed glasses to drive.
He left her place as she was angry and aggressive while drunk, later getting a text message from her asking where her glasses were.
Marshall said he saw a red car – Sale’s car – pass him at high speed before going over a rise.
He saw what he thought were clumps of dirt in the opposite lane, then saw Sale’s wrecked car off the right side of the road, before feeling a bump under his wheels.
He stopped the truck and saw he had run someone over.
Although an autopsy listed the cause of death as the skull fracture caused by the truck, Scott said her death could have happened another way.
She could have died when she crashed, or survived that but been killed when she hit the road.
‘‘It is not known and can never be known if Amanda was deceased before being struck by the truck.’’
Marshall looking at the crashed car was a natural thing to do, Scott said.
The dark road and speed involved – Marshall said he was going about 85kmh – as well as Sale’s dark clothing would have made it impossible for him to avoid her once she was visible on the road.
Studies in the United Kingdom showed no-one would have been able to avoid Sale in a similar situation, Scott said.