Finding into death of Margaret Pace
Deceased
Margaret Pace
Demographics
79y, female
Date of death
2013-11-22
Finding date
2014-10-29
Cause of death
Head and chest injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision
AI-generated summary
A 79-year-old woman died in a motor vehicle collision when her vehicle pulled out from a median crossover onto the Western Freeway at night without yielding to oncoming traffic. The driver (her husband) had consumed alcohol (one stubby). The vehicle had deficient tyre tread but this did not contribute to the collision. The coroner identified systemic road safety issues with multiple unlit median strip crossovers on the Western Freeway that facilitate dangerous crossing manoeuvres. The coroner recommended closing these crossovers to prevent future collisions. This case illustrates how infrastructure design, inadequate lighting, and driver factors (impaired judgment from alcohol, darkness, fatigue) converge to create collision risk.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Driver (spouse) pulled out from median crossover without yielding to oncoming traffic
- Darkness and lack of road lighting at collision site
- Driver had consumed alcohol (one light beer)
- Inadequately designed median strip crossovers on Western Freeway
- Vehicle tyre tread deficiency (though not causative)
- High-speed collision impact on driver's side door
Coroner's recommendations
- Earnest consideration be given to closing the median strip crossovers on the Western Freeway at Troups Road North, The Sundowner Caravan Park, The Rockband Garden Centre (Nursery), Paynes Road, and Mount Cottrell Road
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