Coroner Telford said Wood died from blood loss after the crash.
A toxicology analysis report found methamphetamine and a “small amount of alcohol” – below the legal limit to drive – in Wood’s blood.
Scene and witness evidence indicated Wood was fatigued, as he had been “working very hard” before the crash and had little to no sleep before driving.
On the morning of the crash, a member of the public found a ute crashed down the bank on Wharepapa South Rd and called emergency services.
A Serious Crash Unit analyst found Wood was driving west on Wharepapa South Rd sometime between 4.03am and 8.20am.
After failing to negotiate a moderate left bend, the vehicle crossed the centreline and left the road into a downward-sloping grass paddock.
The ute stopped when it hit a boulder.
Damage to the ute was “relatively minor” but Wood was not wearing his seatbelt.
The analyst said there were no road or environmental factors, the ute was in good order, and speed was not a factor.
He believed fatigue exacerbated by methamphetamine and impairment were the primary causative factors of the crash.
The analyst also said Wood would have likely survived if he had been wearing his seatbelt.
Coroner Telford said it was a “tragic situation involving yet another death of one of our young men”.
He said Wood’s family cared deeply for him and missed him.
“What makes this situation all the more painful in my view is the reality that it was so avoidable.”
Coroner Telford said it was widely known that using drugs before driving was extremely dangerous and a leading cause of death on New Zealand roads.
It was equally well known that wearing a seat belt was a key protective step every driver must take.
“However, what is not widely discussed is the role of fatigue in our road-related deaths; fatigue is often exacerbated by alcohol or other drug use.”
Coroner Telford referenced Northland 6-year-old Joshwyn Reihana-Ruka-Wikaira, who died in a car crash in 2017.
Her mother, the driver, was impaired by alcohol and fatigue, and Joshwyn was incorrectly restrained in the car.
Coroner Telford concurred with the analyst that fatigue and drug use were the primary contributory factors in Wood’s death.
He offered his condolences to Wood’s family and to those who knew and loved him.
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.
