Inquest told of lakeside road safety fears

Concerns have been raised about the safety of a lakeside gravel road after a 4WD vehicle slipped and crashed and two young children were drowned.

A coroner's inquest yesterday into the death of Thomas John Poplawski, 7, and Georgia Rose Poplawski, 5, heard experts say the road had loose material like a "bed of marbles" and had insufficient margin for error, while police and locals were worried the soft edges of the road could lead to more accidents.

The children drowned when the Toyota Prada, driven by their mother, Sonya Poplawski, tipped off Greenstone Station Rd, near Queenstown, and plunged into Lake Wakatipu last September.

Mrs Poplawski and her eldest daughter, Jesseme, were able to escape but the younger children were trapped.

The family had been driving home after a PTA meeting and were only about 350m from their home when Mrs Poplawski went too wide on a right-hand bend, over-corrected and the vehicle tumbled down a steep bank into the lake. Police decided against charging Mrs Poplawski over the accident. There was no evidence that Mrs Poplawski was speeding, had been drinking or that there was any defect with the vehicle.

Yesterday Queenstown coroner Alan Macalister ruled that the deaths were the result of misadventure.

However he adjourned the inquest to await more expert information on the road before making recommendations.

Civil engineering professor Alan Nicholson, asked by police to assess the road, said Mrs Poplawski may have been driving a little further to the right than normal when she failed to take a right-hand bend.

"When it was necessary to steer towards the left, she was unable retain control of the vehicle because of the looseness of the road surface and the steepness of the road," Professor Nicholson said.

"In road engineering, it is a well-established principle that there should be a reasonable margin for error. The nature of the road at the accident's site ... meant there was very little margin for error, and having got into difficulty, the scope for recovery was very low."

Another expert, Associate Professor Rob Douglas, said the question had to be asked whether the gravel used on the road was acceptable.

"While this is appropriate material to use in such a low standard road, it does mean that the road would present a tricky surface, with loose material like a bed of marbles present beside the wheel paths."

Police sergeant Michael Robb said he was aware of several accidents on the road and was concerned about the heavy traffic using it to get to tourist walks.

"I personally don't believe it is in an acceptable state for the amount of tourist traffic that is on that road. But that being said, even locals it seems are being caught out by the soft edges of the road."

Mr Macalister will deliver written recommendations from the inquest.