A head-on crash that claimed the lives of four young Korean skiers was caused by their coach crossing the centre line, a Coroner has ruled.
And she says all four men may have survived had they been wearing seatbelts.
Junwoo Park, 24, Sangseo Kim, 16, and coach Bum-Hee Cho, 23, died in the crash on State Highway 79 near Geraldine, South Canterbury, on August 21 last year.
Hyunseo Han, 17, suffered severe injuries and, after extensive medical treatment, died on December 2.
The young men and other athletes and coaches were travelling in convoy after a day of training when the crash happened.
Cho was driving.
The deaths were investigated by police and referred to Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale. Her findings can now be published.
“Each of the four deceased young men was much loved by their family and friends. I am advised that three of the four deceased were the only children of their parents,” the Coroner said.
She acknowledged the deep grief of the families, many of whom had lost their only child.
She also recognised their struggle to trust the unfamiliar emergency and investigation processes and committed to providing answers as fully as possible.
Families conducted their own inquiry and provided witness transcripts, but the Coroner said official sworn statements and police analysis remained the most reliable evidence.
“I acknowledge that the content of this finding is likely to be distressing and emotionally challenging for [the victims’] loved ones. To you all, I acknowledge your loss and grief, and I extend my condolences.”
The Coroner ruled the response by emergency services was “timely and professional” and they “quite properly prioritised” caring for the injured at the scene.
The specialist crash investigation that followed was “orthodox and appropriate” and “reached sound conclusions that are well supported by evidence”.
Cho, Park, Kim and Han were all members of the Lee Chang Woo Racing School.
They arrived in New Zealand in July 2024 to train and compete in the Winter Games in Queenstown in August.
They spent time training and competing at various ski fields across the South Island.
Coroner Borrowdale revealed that the night before the crash, Cho was fined for speeding and failing to produce a driver’s licence, admitting he hadn’t been concentrating on his speed.
The next day, the team were on their way to their accommodation in Methven after a morning training at Mt Dobson.
Cho was driving a Toyota Estima, the second in a convoy of four team vehicles.
Park was in the front passenger seat. Kim and Han were in two of the rear seats, with the third tilted flat to enable “assorted items of loose ski equipment to be carried within the vehicle” including ski boots and bags, ski poles and slalom gates.
Travelling towards the convoy was a Toyota Surf driven by a 24-year-old man driving home to Wanaka after a day skiing at Craigieburn.
The vehicles collided at about 3.15pm.
The driver of the van behind Cho told police that the Surf driver “crossed the centre line just before the start of the corner, causing the accident”.
However, police established it was Cho who drove onto the wrong side of the road.
Senior Constable Paul Beaver, an experienced serious crash investigator, said that the curve of the road meant Cho had “an obstructed view of the approaching Surf” and it would have looked “as if the oncoming driver was on the wrong side of the road, when this was not the case”.
Beaver established that Cho’s failure to keep the Estima fully within its lane was a causative factor in the crash.
“In ascribing reasons for Mr Cho having crossed the centreline, [Beaver] stated that it was possible that fatigue played a part, given the demands of the daily training regime on the training tour,” said Borrowdale.
“Fatigue can lead to a momentary loss of concentration.”
Beaver said speed did not contribute to the crash and that the vehicles only became visible to each other seconds before impact, leaving the oncoming driver almost no time to react.
Beaver said “the absence of seatbelts” contributed to the severity of the victims’ injuries.
“It was possible that the unrestrained cargo also contributed to the injury severity,” Borrowdale said.
Beaver also reported that none of the victims were wearing seatbelts.
As a result, on impact, they “moved unrestrained within the vehicle cabin”.
Proper seatbelt use would have better protected them from impact and shifting cargo.
Seconds after the crash, other motorists and nearby residents were quickly on the scene, trying to help.
Paramedics were there by 3.39pm.
It was clear that Cho, Park and Kim were dead, and no resuscitation was attempted.
Han was trapped in the vehicle with life-threatening injuries. He was extricated and airlifted to Christchurch Hospital – unresponsive and with “major trauma to multiple body regions”.
Post-mortem examinations were carried out to determine the exact cause of death for each victim.
Cho suffered multiple blunt force injuries to his body and organs and “a lethal amount of blood loss”.
He also had an enlarged heart deemed to be “unusual in a 23-year-old”.
“His enlarged heart could possibly have caused symptoms that led him to lose control of the vehicle he was driving, but there was no way to confirm or refute this possibility,” said the Coroner.
“Toxicology testing was negative for any ingested alcohol and drugs.”
Park died from blunt force injuries to the head, neck, torso and extremities.
Kim died from blunt force injuries to the head and neck.
Coroner Borrowdale said his death was “sudden” after his body “came to a sudden stop” in the crash - but his head continued forward with significant momentum.
Han suffered a traumatic brain injury and had several operations to save his life.
Initially, he was fed through an abdominal tube and was “fully dependent on hospital care”.
“By late September, Mr Han was recovering well and breathing better, so on 30 October he was transferred to the Auckland Brain Institute for rehabilitation ... [he] was using a wheelchair, doing strength exercises, and could be heard to speak using a noise valve,” the Coroner revealed.
After initial recovery, Han developed a severe chest infection and was admitted to intensive care with multiple complications.
Despite treatment, he developed septic shock and multi-organ failure and died on December 2, 2024.
In her findings, Coroner Borrowdale addressed concerns raised by the victims’ families about the crash response and investigation.
They felt the Estima “should not have been loaded with unrestrained ski equipment”.
“There are no regulations in New Zealand restricting how cargo within a personal-use motor vehicle must be stowed for the safety of the occupants. This is a matter that is left to the driver,” she said.
“Loose equipment in the vehicle did not contribute to the occupants’ lethal injuries.”
The Coroner confirmed emergency services responded promptly and did all they could to save Han.
“In the cases of Mr Cho, Mr Park and Mr Kim, it was tragically too late. They were immediately killed in the collision, and no medical rescue was possible,” she said.
Coroner Borrowdale was satisfied that the fatal crash was caused by Cho crossing the centre line and colliding with the Surf.
“As to the causes of the lethal injuries that the young men sustained, I am satisfied that these were made considerably more severe as a result of the occupants being unrestrained by seatbelts,” she said.
The Coroner said there were important lessons to learn from the crash and she hoped the circumstances would improve and increase public education and avoid similar tragedies in the future.
“It is clear from the evidence... that the injuries sustained by these young men were made considerably worse because they were not wearing seatbelts,” she said.
“I wish to reinforce the message to motorists: always wear your seatbelt.
“Whether you are the driver or passenger, seatbelts save lives, as the old campaign said.
“Wearing a seatbelt reduces by 40% your chances of being killed or injured in a road crash. Do not take chances by being unrestrained in any motor vehicle.”
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 19 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz