Fatal crash victim five times over legal limit
A woman who decided to go for a drive with a family member after a party may have survived crashing her car if she’d been wearing a seatbelt.
Aroha Tewhaia Erana Leaf, 26, died in July 2020 on State Highway 1 about 1km south of Ō kaihau, Northland, following a car crash.
Leaf had hosted a party, which finished around 2.30am, and for reasons that were still unknown, coroner Alison Mills said Leaf and a relative had decided to go for a drive.
At 6.30am, two people were flagged down south of the Waiare Rd turnoff on SH1, by the relative who had a head injury and was in an ‘‘incoherent state’’, Mills said.
The relative told the two passers-by there had been an accident and pointed towards a nearby paddock.
In the paddock the two passersby found Leaf’s damaged car, with Leaf lying beside it, unresponsive.
Emergency services attended and declared Leaf was dead at the scene. The surviving relative couldn’t remember how the accident happened apart from saying she’d been in the front passenger seat.
During autopsy, it was found Leaf’s blood alcohol level was five times over the legal limit and THC was also detected.
Mills noted that Leaf didn’t have a current driver’s licence.
A serious crash investigation found Leaf had failed to keep in control of the car and veered off the road where the car then tumbled and rolled before landing the in the farm paddock.
It was unknown why the car left the road, the investigation noted, but it was believed fatigue may have been a factor along with Leaf’s alcohol levels.
The fatigue was indicated due to the time of day, the fact no other cars were involved and it happened on a straight segment of road and there was no evidence of emergency action such as braking being taken, the investigation said.
Mills said neither Leaf nor her passenger were wearing seatbelts when the crash happened.
‘‘The serious crash investigator advised that in his opinion Aroha would probably have survived the accident if she had been wearing a seatbelt.
‘‘Seatbelt advice on the Waka
Kotahi NZ Transport Agency website states that wearing a seatbelt reduces your chances of being killed or seriously injured in a road crash by 40%.’’
Mills also noted many fatal crashes were caused by driver fatigue which was more than ‘‘just feeling tired’’.
‘‘It’s a state of physical and mental exhaustion which results in a loss of alertness. This loss of alertness is accompanied by poor judgment, slower reaction time and impaired co-ordination and decision-making. Considerable effort has been made to promote safe driving. Police, coroners, Waka Kotahi and others have consistently highlighted safe driving messages.’’
Mills reiterated people should not drink and drive or drive when they were tired and should always wear a seatbelt.
This reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air.
Latest property revaluations from Quotable Value will be posted to Far North District Council ratepayers on May 15 – much later than usual.
The council says this could see decisions on some objections delayed until after the council sets its rates on July 1.
The delays are another impact of the January weather.
All properties in New Zealand are revalued every three years, with the last revaluation for the Far
North undertaken in 2019.
New valuations were undertaken in October 2022.
The Far North District Council has appointed Quotable Value (QV), New Zealand’s largest valuation and property services company, to undertake its property revaluations. The company’s valuers assess how much the land, capital, and improvement values have changed over the past three years.
The council uses updated land value information to help it set rates for individual properties.
Property owners can object to the QV assessment if they believe their property has been under or over-valued. Objections must be made by June 22.
The delay in getting the latest property assessments to Far North property owners was due to QV staff being diverted to emergency assessments following the
Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
Janice Smith, Far North District Council group manager – corporate services, says decisions on objections are usually made by QV well ahead of council striking rates for the next financial year.
‘‘But due to the delay in receiving the October 2022 revaluations, the normal objection period has been significantly compressed and it is possible that some objections will not be decided before the council strikes rates on 1 July.’’
She says the council is required by the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 to send out the first rates invoice based on the property value held at that time.
‘‘If an objection is successful after we strike rates on 1 July, the council will send out an amended rates assessment to the property owner.’’
She says land value is just one factor used to calculate rates and often has only a moderate impact on the annual rates assessed for each property.
If people have not received their revaluation notice by May 27, they should contact QV directly.
‘‘The council will also upload the entire District Valuation Roll to our website next month. The roll will be searchable and will display the value of any property within the district.’’