KEY POINTS:
Test results released today show the driver of a car which ploughed into two motorcycles, leaving four people dead, was well over the legal alcohol limit.
Three people riding on the two bikes were killed, and the driver Gordon Armstrong died from his injuries several days after the crash.
In the accident near Okere Falls near Rotorua two weeks ago Armstrong's car crossed the centre line and collided with the two motorcycles.
Police said today blood test results showed Armstrong's blood alcohol level four hours after the crash was 92mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal driving limit is 80mg.
Senior Sergeant Ed van den Broek, of Rotorua's road policing unit, said he was surprised at the high reading, given the time that had elapsed between the accident and the sample being taken.
He said the delay was due to the emergency treatment Armstrong received immediately after the accident. The treatment included Armstrong being given blood to replace what he had lost because of his injuries.
"This would have diluted the blood sample even further," Mr van den Broek said. "The simple message is don't drink and drive."
Police had previously revealed that Armstrong had four drink-driving convictions spanning 20 years and was disqualified indefinitely from driving in 2000.
His son, five, and two granddaughters, aged seven and eight, were with him when he drove into the motorcycles. They were taken to hospital with moderate injuries.
- NZPA
