Trio's Friday night out drinking ended with all three men dead
Friday, 9 July 2021
A van driver who died in a crash with his two workmates was on a learner licence, had been suspended from driving and was drink-driving at the time of the crash.
Viliami Tatofi Fifita, Joseph Steven Takau and Siale O’Failoto Koloi died on State Highway 1 driving south from Taupō between Waitahanui and Hatepe on May 4, 2019.
A just-released coroner report said about 4.45am while negotiating a sweeping left curve, the van all three were travelling in crossed the centreline and hit an oncoming truck and tailer unit.
All three men lived in Auckland, but were working and staying in the Turangi area as they were building contractors and were doing work at Tongariro Prison.
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Coroner Michael Robb said the trio finished work on May 3, a Friday, and had some alcoholic drinks.
They then drove their work vehicle to Taupō with the van GPS showing it was parked in Taupō from 9.37pm until 4.09am.
The group then went to McDonalds and left there at 4.18am with Fifita driving.
The driver of the truck and trailer unit started work at 10pm on May 3 and was driving to Turangi via Tokoroa.
At 4.45am on May 4 he was travelling on Hatepe Hill when he saw a van approaching at speed around a corner with its high beam headlights on.
The truck driver thought the van was veering into his lane and he tried to manoeuvre the truck and trailer to avoid the van.
He sounded his horn, but could not avoid the collision.
Emergency services were called and confirmed two people died at the scene, which was later identified as Fifita and Takau.
Koloi was taken to hospital but died on the way.
The driver of the truck and trailer was also taken to hospital with a broken wrist and cuts and bruises.
An investigation done by the Taupō Serious Crash unit said Fifita had been on his learner licence since September 22, 2015.
He had not attempted the restricted licence test, despite making three separate bookings to get it.
At the time of the crash, his licence was suspended after an incident in Auckland on April 19, 2019 where he was found asleep in the car with the engine running.
On this occasion, his breath alcohol level was 754 micrograms per litre, which is three times the legal limit.
Fifita’s postmortem showed he had a blood alcohol level of 185 milligrams per 100 millilitres, with the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers 20 and over 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres.
Both the other men in the car also had alcohol in their system, with Koloi’s reading 79 milligrams per 100 millilitres and Takau’s 202 milligrams per 100 millilitres.
The report said aspects of the crash showed fatigue was a factor for Fifita, which included being awake for more than 12 hours, the time the crash happened and the slow response to lane deviation.
In an investigation done by the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit the driver of the truck was found to have only taken a 20-minute break in Turangi, which was logged as a 30-minute break, and also had traces of methamphetamine in his system.
However, while the meth could have an adverse effect on driving ability, it was not the cause of the crash.
Coroner Robb found Fifita was driving drunk and had been awake for an extended period of time.
He said many groups had highlighted the dangers of driving while fatigued and/or under the influence of drugs and alcohol, so he had no additional comments to make.