A driver who caused a triple fatality on the outskirts of Dannevirke by crossing the centre line was unlicensed, fatigued and had used drugs.
An inquest into the deaths of Cicely Jean Bramley, Jonathon Peter Dean Wrigley and 2-year-old Aaliyah Waimarie Wrigley put the cause of the April 7 crash down
to a vehicle crossing the centre line.
However, Hastings coroner Christopher Devonport agreed with the conclusion in a Crash Investigation Report that Mr Wrigley's fatigue, use of mind-altering substances and speed may have been causative factors.
Mr Wrigley was driving his 1994 Holden Commodore with his partner and their daughter Aaliyah unrestrained in the back seat towards Dannevirke on April 7. At 9.45pm the Commodore rounded a right-hand bend before crossing the centre line and colliding with a 2005 Holden Cruze.
Cicely Jean Bramley, the driver of the Cruze, died at the scene as a result of multiple injuries, including fractures of the legs, pelvis, spine and severe chest trauma. Her friend Lynda Kathleen Parkes, who survived the crash, described the Commodore as "going like a bat out of hell".
Aaliyah Wrigley died instantly in the crash due to a haemorrhage from a ruptured aorta and multiple fractures of her spine.
Mr Wrigley died from his injuries sustained in the crash in Palmerston North hospital on April 8.
Mr Devonport said there was the possibility Aaliyah Wrigley may have survived had she been restrained in a car seat.
Both vehicles were inspected and neither had any mechanical faults which would have contributed to the crash.
Toxicology evidence showed Mr Wrigley had taken methamphetamine and cannabis prior to the incident.
The report noted Mr Wrigley had been awake since 3.50am the day of the crash.
