Coroner Brandt Shortland.
The driver of a car that crashed near Kaeo, killing himself and his passenger, was over the legal alcohol limit and speeding, but what caused the car to lose traction may never be known, a coroner has ruled.
Vernon Lawrence-Samuels and Ryan Tahi Wikaira were born minutes apart at the
same hospital and just after midnight on May 30, 2014, they died together when the 1997 Honda Accord driven by Mr Lawrence-Samuels lost control on State Highway 10 south of Kaeo.
The car crossed the centre line and clipped the right rear of a trailer being towed north. It then spun out of control into the path of a Ford Courier ute. Both men died at the scene.
Coroner Brandt Shortland said these were tragic and unnecessary deaths, but there was no information as to why the car lost control.
"It cannot be ruled out that the surface irregularity has caused the car to be unstable as the vehicle has passed over it in excess of 120km/h," Mr Shortland said. "It also must be acknowledged that Mr Lawrence-Samuels has an excessive blood alcohol level, which cannot be ignored in the circumstances ... It is most fortunate that no one else was killed or seriously injured in the crash, particularly [the man towing the trailer and his wife who was driving the ute]."
