KEY POINTS:
A young disabled man who moved to the West Coast to start a new life after years of being bullied drowned in a swamp when he crashed his car while drunk, an inquest was told.
Christopher James Mayhew, 27, drove his silver BMW off State Highway 6 at around 170km/h into bush near Horseshoe Bend, between Ross and Hokitika, on June 20.
The car rolled several times ejecting Mr Mayhew through the windscreen.
He landed 19m from the car, was unconscious in a water and gravel drain, and drowned.
The inquest was told that his intoxication while driving - he was three times over the legal limit - compounded his muscular disability, called arthrogryposis.
It also emerged that years of public bullying had taken its toll and were causing anxiety attacks.
However, the IT technician was making a fresh start by relocating from Invercargill to Ross, 31km southwest of Hokitika to live with his sister.
On the day of the crash, he had dropped off his job application at Grey Base Hospital and explored Greymouth to see if he would like living there if he got the job.
Westland coroner Tony Sullivan said while he could not excuse Mr Mayhew's drinking and driving "it appears from the evidence it was possible that his behaviour on the day is linked to the fact that the reaction of the public to his physical condition made Mr Mayhew feel victimised because he was different".
Mr Sullivan said no one would know if Mr Mayhew's disability and his behaviour on the day were linked.
"It can only be hoped that sections of the public will review their attitude to people with disabilities so people such as Mr Mayhew do not feel marginalised," he said.
- NZPA
