Driver in fatal Christchurch crash that took wife will not be charged

Main Rd, Christchurch. Image/Supplied

A Christchurch man, who blanked out moments before a crash that killed his wife, will not be charged.

Bruce Imrie, 77, and his wife Maureen, 73, were just five minutes from their home in Mt Pleasant, when the car he was driving left the road, broke through a barrier and fell into the sea.

In a statement, police said an investigation into the March 25 crash that killed Maureen has now been completed and no charges would be laid.

At the time, Imrie told Fairfax that he "blanked out" moments before the incident happened.

Witnesses to the crash earlier this year said the car drove off Main Rd in Clifton, broke straight through a barrier and headed down a bank into the sea.

Passers-by rushed to help and managed to pull Imrie out of the car. But a strong undertow swept the car out to sea with his wife still trapped.

A witness told the Herald at the time that the section of the beach where the car entered the water had a notorious undercurrent and other people at the scene said they saw the car moving out to sea before it went out of sight.

Maureen's body was later recovered along with the car by the police dive squad.

The couple had two children and two grandchildren.

Police said the matter has now been referred to the Coroner.