Coroner's Finding: Shanahan, Joanne and McNeill, Tania

Female·Multiple injuries sustained in motor vehicle collision

An inquest was held into the deaths of two women, Joanne Shanahan (55) and Tania McNeill (53), who were fatally injured in a catastrophic motor vehicle collision at an Adelaide intersection on 25 April 2020. A driver traveling at extreme speed (187 km/h in a 100 km/h zone) on the wrong side of the road struck their vehicles. The driver was experiencing his first psychotic episode due to previously undiagnosed bipolar I disorder or schizoaffective disorder. Expert psychiatric evidence confirmed the condition was undetectable beforehand, as first manic episodes cannot be identified early. The coroner determined the deaths were not preventable, as there was no opportunity to intercept the dangerous driving. However, the coroner recommended implementing automatic extreme speed notifications from fixed-point speed cameras to police to enable faster identification and potential interception of dangerous drivers in future cases.