A coroner has ruled that the death of a 20-year-old apprentice builder who fell approximately 30 metres from a Clifton Beach cliff last year was a “tragic accident”.
20-year-old Carter Jim Taylor was walking with two of his friends near a high sea cliff in the Cape Deslacs area when he slipped and fell on Saturday April 2, 2022.
According to Coroner Simon Cooper, the trio were about 20 metres away from the cliff’s edge when they approached it.
“At a distance of 4-5 metres from the cliff edge, Mr Taylor lost his footing, landed on his stomach and started to slide, feet first towards the top of the cliff,” Coroner Cooper said.
Despite attempting to grab onto vegetation, he was “unable to stop himself and slid off the edge,” falling approximately 30 metres before landing on rocks at the base of the cliff.
Taylor’s friends called out to him as he lay “unconscious but breathing” on the rocks below, but he did not respond, prompting them to call 000 for help.
Rescue Helicopter crews arrived and landed on rocks nearby, finding Taylor in a “terribly injured” state.
Despite their efforts, Taylor “could not be saved” and passed away shortly after being airlifted away from the scene.
Coroner Cooper said his injuries included significant blunt trauma to the head, neck, including skull and facial fractures, a transverse skull base fracture, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, as well as injuries to the thorax, abdomen and pelvis.
Taylor was not affected by drugs or alcohol at the time, with a toxicological analysis showing “no apparent significant toxicology” results.
Coroner Cooper said the death was not suspicious and that “nothing more” than what was done by both the responding emergency services and his friends “could have been done to save his life” or to prevent the “tragic accident”.
