Carla Murray was disqualified from driving and had been drinking and taking drugs when she drove two friends through a stop sign and into the path of an oncoming truck. 

The trio had been drinking bourbon at a picnic stop just off State Highway 1 near the banks of the Rangitata River in Canterbury during the early hours of February 18, 2023, when tragedy struck. 

Murray, 37, was killed instantly. 

While she was found to have been over the legal blood alcohol limit at the time, toxicology tests also found her blood contained methamphetamine, cannabis and Zopiclone, a sedative medication used to treat insomnia. 

Today, Associate Coroner Stephen Burdes issued findings into her death, in which he said the outcome was an example of the “catastrophic effects” of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. 

Trio shared a bottle of bourbon 

According to the findings, Murray and a friend had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis when they left Christchurch in Murray’s car. 

They were headed south for Invercargill at 11.30pm on February 17, 2023. 

Murray, who had been disqualified from driving for 12 months in September the year before, after a third conviction for drink driving, was behind the wheel. 

Her friend was in the passenger seat and when they got to Ashburton, they stopped and picked up a man who sat in the backseat and shared a bottle of bourbon with them. 

At Ealing, just north of the Rangitata River, Murray turned off State Highway 1 into a picnic area on Withells Rd. 

At 3.45am, Murray and her two passengers drove back along Withells Rd, intending to turn right on to State Highway 1 and continue south. 

None of the trio was wearing a seatbelt as the car approached the intersection where a northbound truck was approaching the highway. 

Murray pulled out onto the highway and the truck hit the car in the centre of the driver’s side. 

The car was propelled northwards and ended up on the grass verge of the southbound lane. 

Murray suffered multiple blunt-force injuries and died. Her passengers were seriously injured and taken to hospital. 

Subsequent investigations found the truck was travelling within its lane and below the 100km/h speed limit. 

The truck driver was uninjured and breath-tested after the crash, with a negative result. 

Dashcam footage from the truck showed Murray’s car had driven into its path. 

Police said Murray had failed to stop at the controlled intersection, which was clearly marked by a stop sign, and that the combined impairment effects of alcohol and drugs were almost certainly a contributing factor. 

Toxicology tests showed Murray’s blood contained 180 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for a driver in New Zealand aged 20 or over is 50 milligrams. 

It was also found that the level of methamphetamine was 0.12 milligrams per litre of blood, consistent with methamphetamine-associated fatalities. 

The level of cannabis was not determined. 

Testing found the medication Zopiclone at levels below those associated with normal use. 

Risks to drivers ‘well-advertised’ 

Coroner Burdes accepted a pathologist’s opinion that Murray’s death was the result of multiple blunt-force injuries, with the alcohol and drugs being a factor in the crash. 

“Ms Murray’s blood contained more than three times the legal limit of alcohol. Her impairment and the risk of a fatal crash would have risen in proportion to her level of blood alcohol. 

“Ms Murray had also consumed methamphetamine and cannabis recently enough for both to still be detected in her blood.” 

Coroner Burdes was unable to say why Murray failed to stop and give way. 

“She may not have seen the heavy goods vehicle, or she may have seen the vehicle but believed she had sufficient time and space to drive out in time. 

“In either event, I assess it as more probable than not that Ms Murray’s failure to stop and give way was at least in part due to her high level of alcohol intoxication and her consumption of methamphetamine, cannabis, and Zopiclone.” 

The risks to drivers and other road users of alcohol intoxication and drug consumption had been well-advertised, the coroner said. 

Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.