A Northland teenager who died after falling from the back of a ute on Ripiro Breach may have been trying to retrieve her lost glasses at the time, a coroner has found.
Marie Mihi Patricia Rangi Nelson, 17, died on December 21, 2008, from multiple head injuries, Coroner Sarn Herdson found in her investigation into the death.
In her decision released this week, Ms Herdson found that Marie died in Whangarei Hospital as a result of injuries she suffered the previous day.
Marie had been in a convoy of three vehicles travelling down the beach about 10am on December 20 and had been at an end-of-year function the previous night.
She was travelling in the back of the ute with a friend, Paula Harris, which was driven by Ms Harris' father.