Raymond Nicholas Tairua-Gray, of Hastings, seen here taking part in an EIT fashion show, died in a car accident in 2022. Photo / Kevin Bridle
Raymond Nicholas Tairua-Gray, of Hastings, seen here taking part in an EIT fashion show, died in a car accident in 2022. Photo / Kevin Bridle
Raymond Nicholas Tairua-Gray drowned after crashing his car into a creek in 2022.
A coroner has found speed, drugs and an unsafe vehicle that had a “checkered history” were all contributing factors.
His mother says it was a waste of life and is a warning to others about drugs, alcohol, racing and having a safe car.
The mother of a man who crashed a car into a creek and drowned says his death was “preventable three times over” and his wasted life needs to serve as a warning to other drivers.
Keremia Tairua was speaking after a coroner ruled that the three factors of speed, drugs and a “dangerous unwarrantable vehicle” were all involved in the crash that claimed Raymond Nicholas Tairua-Gray’s life in Napier on August 2, 2022.
“He was a magic boy. He had so much to offer, and it’s a waste of a life,” his mother told NZME.
Tairua said she wanted to get the messages out to young people not to take drugs and drive, not to race on the streets and to “make sure your car is decent and warranted”.
“My primary thing is about the car - make sure your car is fit. Don’t let your bros just cut s*** down because it looks cool, sounds cool.
“It’s got to be warranted, eh?”
Coroner Katherine Greig said in her findings, which were released today, that Tairua-Gray was driving a Holden Commodore which had been damaged in a previous crash. He was travelling at nearly 100km/h in a 50km/h area immediately before the accident and had cannabis and methamphetamine in his blood.
The 27-year-old Hastings man was the only person in the Holden when it crashed on Ford Rd in an industrial area in Napier about 9.40pm, landing upside-down and partly submerged in a creek.
Tairua-Gray was described in the coroner’s report as a “dearly loved member of his whānau”; a man who loved animals and who dreamed of one day living in a house with a number of rescue dogs.
Keremia Tairua with a portrait of her son Ray done by a friend and a favourite childhood toy. Photo / Warren Buckland
His right leg had been amputated below the knee earlier in 2022 after he fell out of a tree while helping a friend do some tree work and severely injured his foot in 2019.
His family told the coroner he used cannabis daily to help control his pain levels. A toxicologist who tested Tairua-Gray’s blood also found evidence of methamphetamine, which can impair the skills and judgment of a driver.
“Despite the effects of drugs on a person’s ability to drive safely being widely known and publicised on a number of forums, drug impairment is concerningly significant on New Zealand’s roads,” Coroner Greig said in her report.
“In 2021 [the year before Tairua-Gray was killed], there were 113 fatal crashes where driver alcohol/drugs were a contributing factor in the crashes, as a result of which 128 people died,” she said.
Holden vehicle had a ‘checkered history’
Tairua-Gray bought the Holden Commodore he was driving from a friend.
Coroner Greig said the car had a “checkered history” and had been “pink stickered” by police in April 2022, meaning a police officer believed it was not safe to be driven. Its warrant of fitness had expired in April 2020.
It had been acquired from an impound yard five months before the crash and had passed through several owners, some of whom had done cosmetic work on it but none of whom had managed to get a warrant of fitness for it.
An inspection of the vehicle following the crash found it had several faults which might have contributed to it coming off the road.
Its rear suspension springs were shorter than standard and not secure in their mounts; all the tyres were different types and sizes, and one was incorrectly fitted; the right front wheel had a stud missing.
A wheel speed sensor had been disconnected, meaning the anti-lock braking system (ABS) was not operational.
Witness describes crash
Another driver, who was travelling with her son, described being overtaken at speed by Tairua-Gray on Ford Rd just before the accident.
As the Holden approached a moderate left-hand bend at speed, she saw its brake lights come on and smoke coming from the rear wheels.
She told the coroner that as the Holden driver tried to get back into the correct lane, he braked and swerved and the car went into the ditch.
The woman called emergency services from a nearby Kmart and the first police officer on the scene found the Holden upside-down and submerged in the creek with Tairua-Gray’s head and upper body underwater. His seat belt was on.
The police officer and ambulance staff who arrived soon after pulled Tairua-Gray from the car but a paramedic confirmed that he had died.
A crash investigator’s report said Tairua-Gray had braked heavily and as the ABS system was not working, the wheels locked and slid along the road.
Tairua-Gray tried to correct the slide but the locked wheels would not respond to the steering input.
The Holden then struck a kerb, causing it to rotate anti-clockwise, bringing the front right of the car to the riverbank first.
The weight of the engine dragged the car down the bank and its rear left side lifted, leading to a clockwise roll and causing the vehicle to land on its roof in the water.
Coroner Greig found that Tairua-Gray died as a result of drowning.
“Speed, failure to negotiate a bend in the road, the effects of drugs, particularly methamphetamine, and a dangerous unwarrantable vehicle with a defect to the antilock braking system that was directly implicated in the crash sequence were all factors in the crash which resulted in Mr Tairua’s death.”
Keremia Tairua said that her son’s ashes had been scattered via a fireworks display over private land, for which permits had been obtained.
“The wind and his spirit carried him to where he needed to be.”
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.
