The reason behind a tragic crash that resulted in the death of a woman and her 15-year-old grandson last year remains undetermined.
Eileen Murfet, a 68-year-old with a good driving record, and her grandson Lachlan Stones passed away after colliding with the back of a stationary truck on the Bass Highway in Latrobe in June 2022.
Mrs Murfet, an experienced driver, had driven from Devonport to Latrobe on the night of the accident to collect her three grandsons.
They were headed back to Devonport to celebrate her daughter’s and the boy’s mother’s birthday dinner at a restaurant.
Lachlan was in the front passenger seat, while his 13-year-old twin brothers, Ethan and Connor, were seated in the rear, all wearing seatbelts.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart said that the crash occurred when Murfet drove into the back of a stationary truck that was attempting to make a right-hand turn into the Tasmanian Helicopters driveway, a turn the driver made routinely during work hours.
Coroner McTaggart found that the driver of the ute had followed all safety protocols, including using indicators and moving toward the center of the road to allow other vehicles to pass on the left shoulder.
Neither were under the influence of alcohol or drugs and road and weather conditions were favourable during the crash.
“The truck had been stationary for about 20 seconds with its right-hand indicator activated, when the Hyundai vehicle driven by Mrs Murfet crashed into the tray of the truck,” the Coroner said.
“The front part of the vehicle containing Mrs Murfet and Lachlan became wedged under the rear of the tray.”
Coroner McTaggart could not determine Murfet’s exact speed but concluded that she “did not apply the brakes at all before impact”.
“At the scene of the crash, Connor and Ethan were assisted out of the rear of the vehicle and were uninjured.”
“Tragically, Mrs Murfet and Lachlan were severely injured and died at the scene, despite resuscitation attempts by attending ambulance personnel.”
“I am satisfied that the impact was not deliberate on the part of Mrs Murfet, nor was it as a result of her suffering a medical episode.”
Coroner McTaggart was “not able to determine whether Mrs Murfet was driving with her headlights activated, or only the park lights”, and could not “conclusively determine why Mrs Murfet did not observe and respond to the stationary, indicating truck when it was visible for a lengthy distance in front of her”.
Although Mrs Murfet had recently undergone cataract surgery, the coroner ruled out any vision problems as significant contributors to the crash.
Crash Investigator Senior Constable Hayden Barnard suggested “a review of the current street lighting should be undertaken with a view to improving visibility for road users at night”, a view Coroner McTaggart said “the Department of State Growth may wish to assess”.
Following the accident, Tasmanian Helicopters implemented a policy for its employees not to turn right from the highway into the driveway.
