Coronial
TASother

Coroner's Finding: Nowitzki-Eisenburg, Heike

Deceased

Heike Marianne Nowitzki-Eisenburg

Demographics

49y, female

Date of death

2017-05-20

Finding date

2019-02-25

Cause of death

Multiple injuries of the brain, chest and abdomen sustained in a motor vehicle crash

AI-generated summary

This case involves a fatal motor vehicle crash rather than a medical incident. A 49-year-old woman driving a 1993 Mazda lost control on a wet, curved section of road while travelling at excessive speed for conditions (exceeding the 98 km/h critical curve speed). She crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle. Toxicological testing detected THC (cannabis metabolite), though the timing and degree of impairment could not be determined. The coroner found the crash was caused by excessive speed for wet conditions and would have been prevented by obeying the 65 km/h advisory sign. Road infrastructure improvements were subsequently implemented including chevron markers, upgraded signage, and resurfacing with high-skid-resistance aggregate. This case emphasizes driver responsibility to adjust speed for weather conditions.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Drugs involved

Contributing factors

  • Excessive speed for wet road conditions
  • Failure to obey 65 km/h advisory speed sign
  • Wet road surface reducing traction
  • Poor road surface condition with extensive bitumen cracking and wear
  • Possible cannabis use (timing and degree of impairment undetermined)
  • Harsh steering input attempting to correct vehicle
  • Lack of spatial awareness noted by former partner
Full text

Related cases

Source and disclaimer

This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.

Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.

Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —