Coroner's Finding: Paton, Benjamin Luke
Deceased
Benjamin Luke Paton
Demographics
20y, male
Date of death
2018-09-29
Finding date
2019-11-28
Cause of death
compressive asphyxia from injuries sustained in a single motor vehicle crash
AI-generated summary
Benjamin Luke Paton, aged 20, died from compressive asphyxia after his unroadworthy Toyota Landcruiser rolled on 29 September 2018. Multiple risk factors converged: he had consumed alcohol (BAC 0.110 g/100ml, over twice the legal limit), was speeding (104-116 km/h in a 100 km/h zone), using his mobile phone to text whilst driving, and was not wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle had significant defects including an aftermarket turbocharger, off-road tyres, modified suspension, and no airbags—modifications that increased rollover risk and caused inaccurate speedometer readings. His friend wearing a seatbelt survived. This case exemplifies how multiple preventable risk factors combine catastrophically; any single factor could have been survivable, but their combination made the outcome nearly inevitable.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- alcohol intoxication (BAC 0.110 g/100ml, over twice legal limit)
- speeding (104-116 km/h in 100 km/h zone)
- mobile phone use whilst driving
- not wearing seatbelt
- vehicle unroadworthy condition with aftermarket modifications
- aftermarket turbocharger increasing vehicle height and rollover risk
- off-road mud terrain tyres increasing height and rollover risk
- modified suspension increasing rollover risk
- speedometer inaccuracy from tyre modifications
- no airbags in vehicle
- impaired reactive capability from alcohol
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