Josephine Wilson, 28, and Piripi Aaron Edward Chase, 31, died after a crash on SH29 on the Kaimai Range on December 28, 2023. Photo / Supplied
A driver was under the influence of cannabis when he “lost control” and crossed the centreline into the path of a truck – killing him and his partner and leaving their 4-year-old son an orphan, a coroner has found.
Piripi Aaron Edward Chase, 31, and Josephine Wilson, 28, died after the crash on SH29 on the Kaimai Range on December 28, 2023.
Their son survived with a broken leg.
In her findings, Coroner Louella Dunn said their “avoidable” deaths reinforced the dangers of driving while under the influence of cannabis.
“Cannabis can impair attention, slow reaction times, and reduce co-ordination, all of which significantly increase the risk of collisions.”
Coroner Dunn said Wilson “tragically” died at the scene, and Chase succumbed to his “significant injuries” in Waikato Hospital and died the next day.
A toxicology report found Chase tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis). His blood samples also tested positive for risperidone (an antipsychotic), rocuronium, lignocaine, midazolam and ketamine.
Medical personnel likely administered some medications.
Dunn said Chase’s aunt reported he had struggled with substance abuse, particularly cannabis, and experienced serious mental health challenges in 2023. He was taking prescribed medication.
The family were driving from Whakatāne to Hamilton for a birthday party on the day of the crash.
Chase was driving southbound on SH29 Kaimai Range about 12.15pm. Wilson was in the passenger seat, and their son was in a child restraint in the back.
At the same time, Brett Moriarty was driving a truck northbound with two empty fuel trailers.
Dunn said Chase “lost control” on a moderate left-hand bend. When he tried to regain control, the car veered back to the left side of the road, then “fishtailed” across the lane towards the two northbound lanes.
The car’s rear left corner struck the truck’s front right corner, “the force of the impact propelling the Toyota across both northbound lanes into a metal barrier, where it came to rest”.
Moriarty’s police statement said he was in the passing lane, preparing to overtake another truck.
“When I first saw the vehicle, it had already lost control, and it was spinning clockwise direction [sic] it kept moving towards me and I could not avoid the impact, when it hit my truck, it collided with the back of it.”
Moriarty said he was driving at 52km/h when he first saw the car.
Dunn said Moriarty stopped to check on the occupants and called emergency services.
The Serious Crash Unit found the road was well marked, with double-yellow painted centre lines with audio tactile strips.
The road had a variable speed limit, changing between 100km/h and 60km/h.
At the time of the collision, the speed limit was 60km/h because of wet weather.
No faults were found with the car or truck, but the car’s front left tyre was “likely” underinflated.
Police considered the underinflated tyre, and wet conditions may have contributed to the loss of control.
Wilson was not wearing a seatbelt. Chase and Moriarty were wearing theirs.
The crash unit also found a “blackened smoking utensil” in the car.
It noted the effects cannabis could have on perception and reaction times.
The effects of cannabis and risperidone on Chase were unknown but the fact he moved out of his lane meant the possibility of delayed or extended perception and response time “cannot be overlooked”.
Chase was also driving “too fast” for the conditions.
It concluded the crash’s primary cause was Chase’s failure to maintain control of the car.
Dunn accepted the serious crash unit’s findings.
She said safety messages about driving safely and using drugs were regularly publicised and she encouraged drivers to abstain from driving while affected by cannabis or any other impairing substance.
Piripi’s mother, Jessica Chase, this week told the Bay of Plenty Times she’d “had a lot of setbacks” since the accident, and she had been unable to return to work.
“The grieving is always going to stay with us,” she said.
Chase said her grandson recovered from his broken leg “really well”.
She said he was doing “really great” and was at school now.
“He loves it. He’s just that ... vibrant, outgoing 5-year-old child.”
She believed “he fully doesn’t understand ... but there will be a time where he will understand”.
Chase said she lived in Hamilton and her grandson lived in Whakatāne.
“I was actually trying to see if I could move back there just so I could have that quality time with him ... ”
Chase said she hoped the other parties involved in the accident were doing well and wished them well for the future.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.