Otago man killed when his car plunged down cliff had rescued his mates prior to his death

May 15, 2018

An Otago man killed when his car plunged over a cliff had come to the rescue of two mates prior to his death.

Daryl Ainsley's vehicle was found in the sea below a cliff on the Tautauku peninsula in the Catlins on Saturday morning, the Otago Daily Times reports.

Lomas Ainsley said his brother, a father of three and prominent local speedway identity, had gone to Tautuku on Friday afternoon with two friends to do renovations on a bach.

His two friends had got stuck on a drive later that night and asked Ainsley to tow them.

"He towed them out, calling them idiots for getting stuck. They left thinking he would meet them at the bach. He never got back," he said.

"It was dark. He must have got disoriented and went over a blind spot ... and went over the cliff."

His friends had panicked after waking up on Saturday morning and finding that he still wasn't back.

"That is when they panicked. They went to look around and couldn't find him anywhere, then went back for another look and found the truck."

The death had been referred to the Coroner with police saying they were investigating a "tragic crash" in rough terrain.

"It's like farmland with no fences and steep cliffs. We sent a rescue helicopter but it couldn't get close enough so we had to deploy search and rescue people get him out," Senior Constable Murray Hewitson said. 

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