Sun glare caused a 62-year-old Pyengana woman to drift into oncoming traffic on the Tasman Highway, triggering a fatal two-vehicle crash near St Helens, a Tasmanian coroner has found.
Roslyn Mary Musicka died in hospital in St Helens on May 21, 2024, after her Holden Astra collided with a Ford Territory and was then struck by a Toyota Landcruiser.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart, in her recent findings, ruled out drugs, alcohol, mobile phone use, vehicle defects and road conditions as contributing factors.
Musicka was driving north at 59km/h around 3:30pm with her husband in the passenger seat. Both were wearing seatbelts.
The coroner found Musicka was approaching a blind left-hand curve when sun glare affected her vision.
“Mrs Musicka was affected by sun glare and she put up [her] left hand to her face shielding her eyes from the sun,” McTaggart said.
The Astra crossed the double white centre lines and collided head-on with a southbound Ford Territory.
It then spun into the path of a Landcruiser towing a trailer behind it. The driver’s side door, where Musicka was seated, took the second impact.
The Landcruiser driver provided first aid at the scene until paramedics arrived.
She died shortly after reaching hospital from multiple head, chest and limb injuries.
An autopsy found cardiovascular disease contributed to her inability to recover.
Her husband and the Ford driver suffered minor injuries, while the Landcruiser driver was uninjured.
McTaggart said both other drivers had done everything possible to avoid the crash and were travelling at or below the 60km/h limit.
She said fatigue could not be ruled out as a secondary factor.
Musicka had held a licence for 45 years with no traffic convictions.
