Cause of crash that killed teen equestrian unclear
The cause of a crash which killed a teenage equestrian as she drove home from school will likely remain unclear, a coroner has found.
Kate Gutry, a Christchurch Girls’ High School student, died after hitting a power pole in South Eyre Rd in Swannanoa, Waimakariri, on February 15 last year.
An investigation found several factors – including fatigue and tumours found in Gutry’s skull and pancreas – may have contributed but a coroner’s report found the exact cause ‘‘elusive.’’
The teenager had a busy schedule leading up the crash, including long days of work, looking after her horses until late at night, and family activities.
While the police serious crash unit argued fatigue was the most likely cause, the coroner said this was not certain.
The family would never be given a definitive answer on what happened that day.
In a report, coroner MaryAnne Borrowdale said that after school on February 12, 2021, Gutry went to work and arrived home about 12.30am. She spent the next morning with her horses before returning to work at 1.30pm.
Her shift finished at midnight, after which she picked up a friend from town, returning home about 2am. On February 14 she went to pony club in the morning before going jet boating and having a barbecue with family and friends. The following day, Gutry was her normal self all day, her friends and family said. Her last class that day ended at 2.40pm.
‘‘Kate left class with her friends and then waved them goodbye when she got to her ute.’’
Less than half an hour later, the 17-year-old was dead.
A witness in a car behind Gutry’s ute shortly before it hit the power pole said her vehicle ‘‘twitched’’ towards the centre line before being corrected.
Shortly afterwards it crossed the line and headed straight for a driveway at 100kmh, the witness said, before the driver’s door took the full impact as the ute hit the pole, the vehicle spinning back across the road before coming to rest in a belt of pine trees. Gutry, the sole occupant, had no pulse.
At the time of the accident, Girls’ High principal Christine O’Neill said Gutry was an inspirational student and a talented equestrian at international levels.