Drunk man ignored pleas not to drive: coroner

A man who ignored a relative's repeated pleas not to drive home from a wedding reception because he was drunk later fell asleep at the wheel, killing himself and his mate.

Coroner Chris Devonport today released his finding into the deaths of Charles Gerrard Walford, 40, and David James Rotorangi, 47, both of Flaxmere, Hastings.

The men had been at a wedding at Waipukurau last October 22. They left about 1.30am on October 23, with Mr Walford driving "despite being repeatedly told by a relative to stay as they were intoxicated".

Blood tests put Mr Walford's blood alcohol level at 264 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood; the legal limit is 80.

Tests also indicated cannabis and methamphetamine in Mr Walford's blood but those results were unproven, and the tests could sometimes give false positives.

No one witnessed the crash but two people saw the vehicle before it happened.

"The witnesses observed the ute pull out from a side road in front of them, forcing them to slow down very quickly," Mr Devonport said.

"The witnesses observed the ute cross over the centre line and back into the correct lane as it negotiated a number of bends in the road."

They also saw the ute veer on to the shoulder a number of times before losing sight of it on a bend.

"After coming on to a straight, they came across the crash scene."

Neither Mr Walford nor Mr Rotorangi were wearing seatbelts, and both were flung from the ute.

"...the cabin area inside the Mitsubishi ute was relatively undamaged," Mr Devonport said.

"Therefore, had Mr Walford and Mr Rotorangi been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, they would likely have remained inside the vehicle and they may have possibly survived the crash."

Mr Devonport concluded Mr Walford had fallen asleep at the wheel, given his high blood alcohol level, erratic driving and the apparent lack of any evasive action.