Coroner's Finding: Riley, Judith and Donald
Deceased
Judith Anne Riley and Donald Roy Riley
Demographics
75y, female
Date of death
2021-08-20
Finding date
2023-06-26
Cause of death
Mrs Riley: cervical spinal injuries sustained in motor vehicle collision; Mr Riley: head, neck and chest injuries sustained in motor vehicle collision
AI-generated summary
This coronial finding concerns a fatal motor vehicle collision on 20 August 2021 involving two vehicles on the West Tamar Highway in Tasmania. An L2 learner driver (Ms Wright, with approximately 80 hours driving experience) lost control of a Ford sedan on a wet road surface while navigating a sweeping left-hand curve. The vehicle crossed onto the incorrect side of the road, impacted an Armco barrier multiple times, and collided with an oncoming Toyota van. Mrs Riley (75 years) sustained fatal cervical spinal injuries and Mr Riley (45 years) sustained fatal head, neck and chest injuries. Contributing factors included inexperience of the young driver, wet road conditions, reduced tyre tread depth (which increased hydroplaning risk), and possible pedal confusion following initial loss of control. The Director of Public Prosecutions determined the driver's conduct did not amount to negligence. Post-investigation, the road section was identified for priority resealing due to a pattern of wet-weather loss-of-control crashes.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Inexperience of the learner driver (L2 licence with approximately 80 hours driving experience)
- Wet road conditions
- Reduced tyre tread depth on front tyres increasing hydroplaning risk
- Loss of traction on wet road surface while navigating sweeping left-hand curve
- Possible confusion of accelerator pedal with brake pedal following initial loss of control
- Road surface polishing creating reduced skid resistance in wet conditions
Coroner's recommendations
- Resealing of the West Tamar Highway section between Killara Avenue and the crash site to be given priority in programmed resealing works due to pattern of loss-of-control crashes in wet conditions
- Installation of 'Slippery when wet' warning signs as interim measure until resealing is completed
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 —