Driver in crash that killed seven 'was affected by cannabis

[pipeman]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/dri...6252630057.html

 

 

Driver in crash that killed seven 'was affected by cannabis'

 

Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones

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Dan Harrison

August 7, 2007

 

A MOTORIST had been smoking cannabis less than an hour before he drove his car through a give way sign, leading to a collision that left seven people dead, a coronial inquest has been told.

 

Max Purdue, 38, Mandy Niblett, 17, Daniel Kelly, 37, and Mr Kelly's children Gavin, 8, and Natalie, 7, were killed when the sedan they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a van at the intersection of Borung Highway and the Donald-Swan Hill Road, near Donald in the state's north-west in September last year.

 

The occupants of the van, Graham and Kath Millard, from Heywood in western Victoria, died after their vehicle became engulfed in flames.

 

The Coroner's Court yesterday was told toxicology tests on Mr Purdue, the sedan's driver, showed cannabis' active component, THC, in a concentration of 44 nanograms per millilitre.

 

Dr Morris Odell, a senior forensic physician from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, told the court he had never seen a THC concentration so high in more than 15 years as a forensic physician. He said it was possible to be confident that a person with such a level of THC in the blood would have been smoking cannabis less than an hour earlier and would still be affected by the drug.

 

"His driving skills would have been adversely affected by the effects of cannabis at the time of the collision," he said.

 

Dr Odell told the court the drug's effects included a reduction in perceptive skills, a slowing in reaction time, dulling of reflexes, a dilation of time perception and an overall reduction in the capacity to react quickly to stressful situations.

 

Sergeant Brendan Butland of Victoria Police's Major Collision Investigation Unit, said he believed Mr Purdue's drug use had contributed to the collision.

 

"I submit that although the straight alignment of the Borung Highway and Donald-Swan Hill Road may be deceptive, there is adequate signage and visibility for a prudent driver to identify and safely negotiate the intersection."

 

Earlier, local Wendy Russell, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, told the court the intersection lacked clear signage.

 

"It's a really bad intersection," she told the court. "Only if you're a regular driver do you know to give way."

 

Senior Constable Rod McLachlan, who is stationed at Donald police station, said he had heard of six "near misses" at the intersection over the past 3½ years.

 

The intersection was converted to a T-intersection under the $15 million grey spot program announced after the crash to target intersections that do not meet traditional crash-based black spot criteria. The intersection did not meet the criteria for black spot funding, which requires three casualty crashes within five years.

 

Outside the court, Kevin Millard, who lost both parents in the crash, said he was pleased the intersection had been fixed.

 

"My parents were innocent bystanders in this horrific accident," he said. "There's certain issues about the other driver. I'm not going to comment on those."

 

Mr Purdue had prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, for cultivating cannabis and possessing and using cannabis and amphetamines.

 

The coroner, Victoria's Chief Magistrate Ian Gray, will deliver his finding on August 28.

Edited August 7, 2007 by pipeman

[420Downunder]

Looking at that pic even a totally sober person could easily miss that giveway sign if distracted for a sec and with a car full of people including 2 young children who could have been fighting at the time I'd say that was the likely cause, there's plenty of intersections and corners around here that have claimed lives due to no/bad signs or roads.