Coroner's Finding: Rapana, Dean Moses

Male·transected thoracic aorta; chest injuries sustained in single motor vehicle collision

Dean Moses Rapana died from a transected thoracic aorta sustained in a single-vehicle motor collision on King Island, Tasmania. He was a passenger not wearing a seatbelt when the vehicle left the road and hit an embankment. The driver had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. Mr Rapana was thrown around the cabin, sustaining fatal chest injuries that would have been prevented by seatbelt use. The vehicle had no mechanical defects and seatbelts were fully operational. This death illustrates the critical importance of seatbelt compliance, mandatory in Tasmania for 50 years, yet still preventable through basic safety practices.