The grieving widow of a Canterbury man killed in a car crash says it is ridiculous that the drunk and disqualified driver responsible for his death was behind the wheel after being convicted of drink-driving on the same day.
Methven's Anthony Thomas Wood, 69, died following the two-car crash on State Highway 1 at Domett, North Canterbury, in April 2023.
The driver of the other car, Zejayohn Keyli-West Hurinui, was was also killed. The 24-year-old was more than four times over the legal alcohol limit.
In findings released on Friday, associate coroner Stephen Burdes said Hurinui was "grossly intoxicated" after earlier that day being convicted of drink-driving at the Christchurch District Court and disqualified from driving for 28 days.
"Mr Hurinui's actions were appalling. He drove with an extremely high level of blood alcohol within hours of being disqualified in the District Court for driving with a similarly high level of breath alcohol," Burdes said.
Kate Wood was a passenger in her husband's car and suffered serious injuries in the crash.
Two years on, she said she was still dealing with the life-changing effects of that fateful night.
"I still have problems with broken ribs, my ribs still ache if I do anything. My life has totally changed. I'm still missing my husband," she said.
After the accident Wood told police that there was no time to react when Hurinui's car crossed the centre line.
"I remember every second of it. We were on our side of the road and within a split second, lights, bang," she said.
Wood is calling for tougher penalties for repeat drunk drivers, along with the Automobile Association, which has called for bigger fines and harsher penalties for drivers who break the law.
Wood said she supported a review of penalties for drink-drivers.
"This driver had absolutely no fear of the fact that that morning he was had up for drink-driving and he was disqualified — there he is doing exactly the same thing," she said.
"It seems ridiculous you could be in court in the morning and in the afternoon you can be out doing exactly what you were in court for."
"Why were the penalties for a conviction for drink-driving so disregarded by him? He absolutely took no notice of the court case that he'd been at that morning."
Following his court appearance, Hurinui, his mother and uncle travelled north where they stopped at a pub in Kaiapoi for two hours to drink "three crate bottles each".
The associate coroner said the group then moved to a pub in Amberley where they continued drinking with friends.
"Mr Hurinui's mother was not sure how long they had spent at this pub nor how much they had to drink, but said it was dark when she left. She last saw her son when he left the Amberley pub at about 5.30pm," the report said.
The crash happened at 9.15pm.
The police crash investigator said it was highly likely Hurinui's intoxication caused him to cross the centre line.
"[Police] concluded that the northbound Mazda driven by Mr Hurinui had crossed the centre line at the bend and was fully in the southbound lane at the apex of the curve. Mr Hurinui had attempted to swerve back to the left and onto the correct side of the road," the report said.
Hurinui was not wearing a seatbelt.
Crash investigators could not determine how fast the cars were travelling.
The coroner did not make any recommendations, saying the dangers of drink-driving had been well publicised by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Wood remembered her husband — a long-time secondary school teacher and business owner — as someone who quietly contributed to the community, including fund-raising efforts for grassroots sport.
"He was really quiet about what he did. Most in the community wouldn't even realise that he was this man who took different things, from softball to skiing. He just made sure that every kid could do those things," she said.
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