A six-month-old baby and his three-year-old sister lay dead in the southbound lane of State Highway 1 after being catapulted from the car they were riding in.
Their five-year-old sister was crushed under the driver's seat in which her father sat. Their mother lay dying in a ditch.
The tragic smash between
Cambridge and Hamilton on December 19, 2001, showed the "stupidity of allowing any person, but particularly children, to travel unrestrained in a motor vehicle", said Cambridge coroner Jocelyn Cooney.
Her comments were made in a reserved decision on the deaths of Hussein Mohammed Saleh, 33, his wife Sanna Awad, 27, and their children, Fatima, 5, Miriam, 3, and Mohammed, six months.
If the father and driver, Hussein Mohammed Saleh, had survived he would be facing charges, Ms Cooney said.
"The driver of this vehicle ensured that he was restrained. His wife chose not to use her seatbelt but there were no restraints or seats for the children."
Police said at an initial hearing last year that the children's car seats were found in the boot of the family's car.
Ms Cooney said it was most likely that Mr Saleh lost control of the car, over-corrected and crossed into the southbound lane and into the path of another car.
The driver of that car, Justin Wright, and his passenger, Robyn Baldwin, were unhurt in the accident. Both were wearing seatbelts.
- NZPA
