Driver in Erua fatality was a learner with cannabis in system

Coroner Tim Scott

The driver of a car which crashed near National Park, killing her and her teenage brother, had a learner's drivers licence and tested positive for cannabis.

Shakayla Heni Te Huna-Tamanui, 22, and Nazareth Jireh Te Huna, 14, died in a crash with a truck on at Erua on State Highway 4, about 8km south of National Park on March 6.

Coroner Tim Scott, in his findings on the inquiry into the deaths, said the pair had travelled from Auckland to Huntly during the late evening of March 5 in convoy with another vehicle occupied by family members.

They arrived at Huntly about 2am on March 6 and Shakayla and Nazareth then continued south toward Whanganui while the other vehicle headed toward Gisborne.

Witnesses said the car the siblings were travelling in overtook an oversized load and its front pilot vehicle before the crash. The car then drifted off the road to the left before going right and crossing the centre line into the path of a truck travelling in the opposite direction.

Speed did not contribute to the crash, with police calculating the car was travelling at about 75km/h immediately before the impact.

The coroner said there did not appear to have been any attempt by Shakayla to brake heavily and he thought she may have fallen into a micro-sleep and woken when the car drifted off the road.

Shakayla had held a learner's drivers licence for about six months and may have had limited driving experience which could have contributed to the crash, Mr Scott said.

She should have had a fully licensed driver sitting next to her as a supervisor, although the lack of a supervisor would not have contributed to the crash.

An implement commonly used for smoking cannabis was found in the driver's footwell of the car and Shakayla's blood tested positive for cannabis. No alcohol was detected in her blood. It was not known whether the siblings were wearing seatbelts.

Mr Scott found that Shakayla died from multiple non-survivable injuries to the head and heart.

Nazareth died from multiple non-survivable injuries to the head, neck and heart.