Coroner's findings shed light on Picton horror crash that killed 7 (2024)

The deadliest crash on South Island roads in 20 years happened because a driver had less than four hours of sleep in the day prior, a coroner has found.

Coroner Alison Mills said the police serious crash unit found that "fatigue was the primary factor contributing to" last year's crash that killed seven people. The findings into the June 2022 crash were released this morning.

Between Picton and Blenheim, a van carrying nine family members crossed the centreline of State Highway 1, and then collided with a large refrigerated truck. Only two people survived.

The remnants of the 10-seater van showed the front half of the vehicle was almost entirely crushed from the impact.

Paul Brown, 59, from Auckland, was driving the van carrying his extended family on the way to catch a ferry in Picton.

He died alongside his wife Diseree Lagud Brown, 47, as well as son Mark Lagud, 15. Also killed in the crash were members of his extended family — Divina Dolar, 56, Flordeliza Lagud Dolar, 19, Li-Hsuan (Amber) Chen, 36, and Mika Chen Clariman, 6 months.

The only survivors from the van were brothers Pedro Clariman and Luie Lagud.

The truck diver suffered minor injuries.

Coroner highlights risk of fatigue

Coroner Mills said the accident left many people in New Zealand, as well as in the Philippines and Taiwan, without their loved ones.

"Sadly, the accident was avoidable and is a reminder of the real risks of driving when tired or 'fatigued'. It is a particular reminder of the cumulative effect of driving long distances with inadequate sleep."

The report by the serious crash unit found Brown had "no more than a total of three hours and 50 minutes sleep in the 24 hours before the accident".

Coroner Mills said that, while it's possible he got slightly more than that, "any sleep he had was minimal and would not have been meaningful deep sleep".

She said no amount of experience, motivation, or care can overcome your body's biological need to sleep.

"Being tired can cause you to drift in and out of sleep without knowing it. Sleep experts call this microsleep. These naps can last between three and five seconds and are the main cause of fatigue-related crashes where the driver runs off the road.

"If this happens while driving, it can cost you and your loved ones their lives".

A family road trip turned tragedy

The coroner's report details the family's trip in the lead up to the deadly crash, which began as a road trip, four days prior, for a family funeral and sightseeing.

They left Auckland on Wednesday, June 15, to attend the funeral of Brown's aunty in Gore where he grew up. Brown worked as a special needs teacher and married Diseree, who was from the Philippines, in 2015.

Diseree's sister, Divina, and her daughter, Flordeliza, had recently come to New Zealand from the Philippines and the trip was an opportunity to show them the South Island.

The family took the Thursday morning ferry to Picton, before traveling to Timaru, where they spent the night. On Friday, they drove to Queenstown, stopping along the way, and arriving in Gore at 11pm.

On Saturday, they attended the funeral before travelling to Dunedin and Timaru, finally arriving at the house of Brown's friend in Rolleston near Christchurch around 10pm.

The family had a short sleep before Brown woke them about 2.30am on the Sunday morning to travel back to Picton, as he wanted them to drive slowly.

Brown and Clariman shared the driving throughout the trip, with Brown described by his family as a cautious driver.

Clariman drove the majority of the way to Picton, but stopped when he became tired and swapped with Brown, who had been driving for 38 minutes before the collision.

Driver not in control at time of crash

Around 7.30am on Sunday, a truck driver coming from Picton towards Blenheim came around a bend on State Highway 1 near Koromiko and saw the van, which kept coming across the centreline towards him.

The coroner's report said: "He tried to avoid the van by hugging the left side of the road and applying the brakes but was unable to avoid colliding with it."

The large refrigerator truck ended up rolled over in the ditch on the opposite side of the road, while the van was pushed backwards 20 metres and extensively damaged.

The report by the serious crash unit found speed and road conditions did not contribute to the crash and there were no mechanical issues with either vehicle.

Brown didn't attempt to break or avoid the collision which the coroner said indicated he was "not in conscious control of the van at the time of impact".

Fifteen-year-old Mark and 6-month-old Mika were also not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. The serious crash unit said "it is possible that both Mika and Mark may have been able to survive had they been appropriately restrained".

'After I saw my daughter, I just passed out'

Last year, 1News interviewed Clariman, one of the survivors of the crash.

That morning he lost his partner Amber and baby daughter Mika, along with his mother, brother and three other members of his family.

He said he was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash but was asleep.

"Yeah. I don't believe also I survived because when I wake up, it's already, you know, I don't have anything to hold except just the door beside me."

Remarkably, he only spent a few days in hospital with only some scars and tissue damage, a few months on.

He didn't remember anything from the lead up to the collision.

"That time I wake up, we already in the crash. So, yeah, then I just wake my family and call them, each of them... I can't believe that happened.

"After I saw my daughter, I just passed out."

He spoke to 1News to thank all those who had supported the family, even strangers from around the country. "It's been hard, but I'm trying to be strong... I can walk, it's not like normal yet but I can handle it," Clairman said at the time.