A coroner has ruled the deaths of two Coastal men in their 20s, killed in a single vehicle crash near Somerset in March last year was tragic, but entirely preventable.
Nicholas George Williams, 20, of Wynyard, and 27 year-old Shaun Lindsay William Ross, of Somerset, were killed when Mr Williams lost control of the flat-tray utility in which the pair were travelling.
Neither were wearing a seat belt, and both had blood alcohol readings more than four times the legal limit.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart found both men had been drinking for around eight hours at a Somerset hotel and has consumed a large quantity of alcohol, including spirits.
The pair had decided to visit a friend at Yolla and despite being twice offered a lift by friends due to their state of intoxication, they departed in Mr Williams’ ute.
Ms McTaggart said if the two men had planned the day to ensure a vehicle wasn’t accessible after consuming an excessive quantity of alcohol, they would not have died.
She noted despite repetitive public campaigns aimed at preventing drink-driving, similar deaths continue to occur on Tasmanian roads, with 16 in the past five years directly due to excessive alcohol consumption.
