Driver in horror Waverley crash which killed seven, including baby, 'already gone' on synthetic cannabis

June 28, 2019

1 NEWS’ Arrun Soma reports from Waverley – a town in mourning.

A driver in a two-car-crash that killed seven people, including a child and a young baby, was smoking synthetic cannabis the day of the crash, a coroner found. 

The report was released just one day after the one year anniversary of the crash, which happened north of Waverley in south Taranaki on June 27 last year.

Six died at the scene, and another, a young girl, died at Waikato Hospital the next day.

The Coroner today confirmed the driver responsible for a 2018 crash that killed seven people was high on synthetic cannabis.

Ora Keene, 84, died of injuries, including rib fractures, Nivek Madams, eight, died of a head injury, Ian Porteous, 80, died of chest and pelvic injuries, Rosalie Porteous, 76, died of multiple injuries, Jeremy Thompson, 28, died of multiple injuries, Shady Thompson, six months, died of a head injury and Brenda Williams, 79, died of injuries, including rib fractures, sustained the crash, Coroner Tim Scott said.

It was not possible to be absolutely certain what caused the crash, but Coroner Scott said, "the overwhelming factor is that Jeremy had consumed a very considerable amount of synthetic cannabis before and perhaps while driving ... he was not fit to drive and the result was the crash."

Fatigue, inattention, in-cab distraction, drug impairment or a combination of these were other likely factors.

Police reporting this morning that the eight-year-old girl involved in the crash died in hospital.

The sole survivor of the crash, Ani Nohinohi, suffered serious injuries and spent a considerable amount of time in hospital.

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In the coroner's report Ms Nohinohi said her partner Mr Thompson, who was the driver in one vehicle, had been smoking synthetic cannabis while in Stratford. She said he might have consumed three cones (each cone about a thimble full) of synthetic cannabis, saying he had consumed "quite a bit more" than she had, the report said.

When the family arrived in Hawera, Ms Nohinohi said they purchased more synthetic cannabis. It was her last recollection of the day because in her words she said she was "synnied out". She woke up in Wellington Hospital after the crash.

Ms Nohinohi said Mr Thompson was in a fine mood, and although he used cannabis daily, he still seemed able to drive.

But before the crash he used a McDonald's drive-thru in Hawera. He was served by Alyssa Gilbert who said he was slurring his words, struggled to make decisions and was "already gone" - meaning under the influence of drugs. Ms Gilbert said she could smell cannabis and saw a woman packing something into a metal pipe.

Ms Gilbert also said a young girl appeared to be without a seatbelt.

Ms Nohinohi said she was unsure who in the car was restrained by seatbelts, including herself, or if Shady was in a baby seat; but the report said evidence given after the crash strongly suggests Shady was in a baby car seat.

The car they were in also had an expired WOF but it was found to have no faults upon later inspection.

Allan Hickford said the firefighters did their jobs - but that seeing things like that take an emotional toll.

In the other car, driven by Rosalie Porteous, all occupants were wearing seatbelts, none were under the influence of alcohol or common drugs, and the car had no faults, the report found.

Witness Christine O'Bryne, who was following Ms Porteous's car, described the oncoming car - driven by Mr Thompson - as crossing the centreline before it collided with the car in front of her.

However, another witness, Bruce Wakefield, had a totally different account - describing a car pulling off the side of the road at a blind corner without indicating into the line of a silver hatchback. He said the driver of the hatchback had no time to react and the brake lights didn't come on.

The coroners report said there is no possibility that both witness accounts are right.

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