Inquest into the death of Kheng Hav Eng
Deceased
Kheng Hav Eng
Demographics
45y, male
Date of death
2000-03-24
Finding date
2001-03-30
Cause of death
Multiple injuries from a motor vehicle accident where the deceased was a driver
AI-generated summary
Kheng Hav Eng, age 45, died from multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on the Stuart Highway near Mitchell Creek, NT on 24 March 2000. The accident occurred when Ms Jennifer Byrne's vehicle, driven at approximately 100-120 km/h in the right lane, approached Mr Peter Brocklehurst's ute which had drifted into her lane due to inattention/weariness. Byrne swerved left then right to avoid collision, lost control, and her vehicle rolled across a grass median and drain before becoming airborne and striking the deceased's oncoming vehicle. The coroner found this a 'very freak accident' and that excessive speed did not play a major role. While Byrne's blood alcohol of 0.054% may have impaired her evasive response capacity, the primary causative factor was Brocklehurst's inattentive lane encroachment. The deceased had no preventive opportunity and bore no fault.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Inattention and weariness of Mr Brocklehurst causing his vehicle to encroach into Ms Byrne's lane
- Ms Byrne's evasive manoeuvre causing loss of control of her vehicle
- Impairment of Ms Byrne's evasive response capacity by alcohol consumption (blood alcohol 0.054%)
- Vehicle rollover dynamics projecting Ms Byrne's vehicle into path of oncoming traffic
- Relative inexperience of Ms Byrne with the more powerful vehicle (6-cylinder Holden compared to usual 4-cylinder vehicle)
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