Coroner's Finding: Radford, Michael Barry
Deceased
Michael Barry Radford
Demographics
53y, male
Date of death
2025-02-20
Finding date
2026-05-12
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident
AI-generated summary
Michael Barry Radford, 53, died from multiple injuries in a single-vehicle motor vehicle accident on the Midland Highway in Tasmania on 20 February 2025. While driving north from Campbell Town, his vehicle veered across lanes, became airborne multiple times over 87.5 metres, and landed inverted in a ditch. Police investigation concluded he was exceeding the 110 km/h speed limit. Toxicology showed blood alcohol of 0.059 g/mL at hospital; forensic back-calculation estimated 0.100–0.190 g/mL at the time of the accident, substantially impairing driving ability. The coroner attributed the crash to driver error potentially compounded by alcohol consumption and excessive speed. Mr Radford sustained severe injuries including bilateral rib fractures, pneumothoraxes, facial fractures, and diffuse axonal injury. He made no neurological recovery and died 17 days later at Royal Hobart Hospital. The coroner found no evidence of suicide and declined to make formal recommendations, noting the dangers of drink-driving are well known.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- Alcohol consumption (estimated blood alcohol 0.100-0.190 g/100mL at time of accident)
- Excessive speed (likely exceeded 110 km/h speed limit)
- Driver error
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