Finding into death of F T
Deceased
FT
Demographics
19y, male
Date of death
2023-04-22
Finding date
2025-01-06
Cause of death
Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision (driver)
AI-generated summary
A 19-year-old male died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision after consuming psilocybin-containing mushrooms. He left his apartment at 3:30am while impaired, drove erratically at excessive speed (approximately 140 km/h) without a seatbelt, and collided with a traffic light pole before striking parked vehicles. The coroner found multiple compounding factors: inexperienced driving, hallucinogenic impairment causing distorted vision and impaired judgment, excessive speed, and no seatbelt use. No mechanical faults were identified. The coroner noted the behavioural effects of psilocybin—including distorted perception and altered decision-making—as contributing to the fatal decision to drive. Prevention opportunities centre on education for young drivers regarding substance use and driving, vehicle safety, and seatbelt compliance.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Consumption of psilocybin-containing mushrooms causing hallucinogenic and psychedelic effects
- Impaired judgment and decision-making due to hallucinogenic substance
- Distorted vision and perception from psilocin
- Inexperienced driver (held learner's permit only)
- Excessive speed (approximately 140 km/h in 70 km/h zone)
- Failure to wear seatbelt
- No evidence of braking or evasive action prior to collision
Coroner's recommendations
- Public campaigns and education directed at young people regarding substance use and driving
- Enhanced road safety education pairing vehicle safety initiatives with substance awareness campaigns targeting drivers aged 18-25 years
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 —