Girl failed by adults – Coroner

Rangimaria White vomited, drifting in and out of consciousness, as she lay drunk in the middle of the road in a small Bay of Plenty town.

Moments later, a vehicle ran over the 14-year-old, killing her.

It was 3.40am on July 25, 2015, in Opo¯ tiki. After hitting her, the driver slowed, but then drove off, according to Awhina Herewini, who witnessed the incident.

Awhina, who was 13 at the time, had tried to drag her comatose friend off the road, but had failed. She watched as her 14-year-old mate was run over in the southbound lane of Goring Street.

Rangimaria’s injuries were described as ‘‘unsurvivable’’. Neither the driver nor the vehicle were ever identified.

The police investigation found that a vehicle travelling at 50kmh wouldn’t have had much time to stop before hitting Rangimaria, who was in dark clothing on a street with limited lighting.

In his findings, Coroner Michael Robb said the driver would have been aware of hitting something and it was inexcusable not to stop.

But Robb’s main concern was how Rangimaria came to be drunk and lying in the road.

‘‘In my view, the most significant concern and the most avoidable aspect of her death is how she, at 14 years of age, came to be so heavily intoxicated that she passed out in the middle of a suburban road.’’

The night she died, Rangimaria was spending the night in Opo¯ tiki at Awhina’s family home.

Rangimaria’s family – whom Robb described as loving and supportive – believed she was watching movies on a sleepover with her friend, the report found.

‘‘I consider that Rangimaria was young, happy-go-lucky, a social young girl who wanted to have a good time, but she was likely naive in terms of alcohol consumption.

‘‘Becoming physically totally overwhelmed by the alcohol is an obvious risk in children drinking.’’

The amount of alcohol she had consumed would have badly affected her mobility, the Coroner found.

Rangimaria was an academically gifted student who spoke te reo and loved kapa haka.

She was said to have sculled pre-mixed drinks, which the two girls acquired through Awhina’s family, including Awhina’s

17-year-old cousin, who was prosecuted for supplying alcohol to minors.

Awhina’s mother was at the house while the girls drank and made no move to stop them.

In his report, Robb said the evidence painted a picture of excessive drinking being normalised, even in the very young.

‘‘For Awhina, who was 13 years of age at the time, there was no supervision or care in place from the early evening through to

3.40am.

‘‘Lack of care and responsibility for both Awhina and Rangimaria on this night should be recognised as falling well below moral and social standards.

‘‘Rangimaria and her family were failed that night.’’