Coroner's Finding: Murfet, Eileen and Stones, Lachlan James
Deceased
Eileen Elizabeth Murfet and Lachlan James Stones
Demographics
unknown
Date of death
2022-06-14
Finding date
2023-07-31
Cause of death
Multiple blunt injuries sustained in motor vehicle crash
AI-generated summary
Two deaths resulted from a motor vehicle crash on the Bass Highway in Latrobe, Tasmania. Mrs Eileen Murfet (68) was driving a Hyundai Getz with her grandson Lachlan Stones (15) in the front passenger seat when she collided with a stationary truck that was stopped in her lane with its indicator activated. The truck driver had brought his vehicle to a complete stop to make a right-hand turn into a business driveway, after slowing over 400 metres with his indicator activated. Mrs Murfet did not apply brakes before impact. The coroner could not determine why Mrs Murfet failed to observe and respond to the clearly visible, stationary truck despite good visibility, weather and road conditions. Recent cataract surgery and night driving were investigated but discounted as significant contributors. The coroner noted that the crash site had no street lighting and recommended the Department of State Growth review lighting in the area.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Failure to observe stationary vehicle
- Failure to apply brakes before impact
- Absence of street lighting at crash site
- Driver inattention or distraction
- Inadequate visibility at night despite good weather conditions
Coroner's recommendations
- Department of State Growth may wish to assess the state of lighting in the area of the crash to determine whether additional lighting is warranted
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 —