Man drowned trying to avoid police, inquest told

File photo / Martin Sykes

A young man drowned in the Grey River in an attempt to avoid a drink-driving conviction, Coroner Richard McElrea has told an inquest in Greymouth.

Andrew David Lorimer, 21, fled to the river after rolling his car outside the Bucks Head Tavern, at Taylorville, about 3.30am on September 20 last year.

His passenger, Samuel Mackie, headed back to the nearby house he shared with Mr Lorimer.

When police spoke to Mackie he was "slightly arrogant", made light of the situation and was unhelpful. Police were later contacted by Mr Lorimer's girlfriend, in Christchurch, who had received a text from him about 3.40am.

He said that he had been in a crash, his shoulder hurt, he was confused and did not know where he was. He was in the river and the phone connection was likely to end if it got wet. He said he would call later from a landline.

Constable Andy Lyes, of Greymouth police, said Mr Lorimer was a poor swimmer and would have been hindered by intoxication and his clothing.

An intensive three-day search, also involving a helicopter and the police dive squad, failed to locate Mr Lorimer or his body.

Checks with Telecom, banks and Customs revealed that his accounts and passport had not been used since the incident, and rumours that Mr Lorimer had been sighted in various places since the crash had been investigated but discounted as false.

A Taylorville resident, Johnny Coleman, heard a car doing burnouts and wheelies in the township, and then heard the crash. He rushed to the crash scene and recognised Mr Lorimer's car.

Earlier, at the tavern, Mr Lorimer appeared drunk and said he had consumed up to 15 handles of beer.

Constable Tony Le Sueur helped organise the official search, which included Coastguard, the whitewater kayak team, four dogs and handlers and a helicopter.

A woman who was searching with Mr Lorimer's girlfriend found his shoes on a pebble beach in the Grey River bed; they had not been there an hour earlier and a constable initially thought the girlfriend had planted them.

However, the shoes were full of silt and it was decided that they had been deposited there by the rapidly dropping river. The shoes were about 500m downstream from where police thought he had entered the river.

Mr Le Sueur said the river would have been difficult for a competent swimmer to cross in daylight, but almost impossible in pitch darkness. He was not surprised a body had not surfaced.

The Grey River was "deep flowing", with low visibility, numerous sink holes and constant gravel flow. The dive squad said it was possible the body had been trapped in a hole, covered in shingle and sand and would remain there.

At yesterday's inquest, the coroner said he was satisfied Mr Lorimer's death had occurred in the early hours of September 20.

"I am satisfied he was intoxicated. He was fleeing police, concerned about the state he was in. He was injured, likely to be disoriented by the crash and got into a situation that he was not able to retrieve himself from."

- NZPA