A Coroner’s report has called for stricter RSA compliance checks on venues after the drink-driving death of a young man served 25 beers over about seven hours.
On the night of Friday, 30 April 2021, 25-year-old apprentice boilermaker Jethro Wolf Douglas attended a hotel on Tasmania’s west coast with a mate, having had a few beers at the mate’s house before they both walked to the pub, less than half a kilometre away.
The pair stayed until closing, purchasing 25 10-ounce glasses of beer. The friend was drinking Great Northern mid-strength, while Douglas was drinking Carlton dry, and around 9pm Douglas gave the keys to his vehicle to his friend as he did not want to lose them.
Around the time the pair left the premises Douglas asked for his keys back, saying he was going to get something but would be back, however, he did not return. Later noticing the Land Cruiser missing from his house, the friend tried several times to contact Douglas, but there was no answer. The friend later said if he had any idea Douglas was going to drive he would not have returned the keys, as he was “way too drunk” to drive.
It’s thought the man attempted to negotiate a left-hand curve, lost control and the vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the narrow road, hit the curb and started to roll. It impacted with a brick and concrete pillar, causing major damage to the vehicle and throwing the driver through what remained of the windscreen, coming to rest face down on the road surface.
The crash was reported to police at 12:27 am, attended by officers from Zeehan, Strahan and Rosebery police stations, personnel from AT, the Tasmania Fire Service and the State Emergency Service. The man had already passed away from his injuries, and the road was closed for investigation.
The speed limit at the scene is 50 km/h, and investigators determined the maximum speed a vehicle can travel through the curve without losing traction and control to be 59 km/h. Data from the vehicle found it was travelling at 101 km/h.
A blood sample taken at autopsy measured a reading of 0.261 per cent. It found he died from multiple blunt trauma injuries sustained as the driver in a motor vehicle crash that involved only one vehicle.
It is estimated a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.180 per cent has a relative risk of being involved in a crash approximately 50 times that of a driver with no alcohol.
Douglas was a Zeehan local, leaving behind his father and pregnant girlfriend, Maranda Baker.
Coroner Robert Webster published his findings last week, referring to CCTV footage from the hotel, which he says showed Douglas was “significantly intoxicated”, noticeably affected when he purchased his 14th beer at 7.53pm, staggering at 11pm, and nearly falling into the bar before being served his 25th beer at 11.45pm.
It is an offence to sell or serve alcohol on licensed premises to a person who is intoxicated – defined as when their speech, balance, co-ordination or behaviour is noticeably affected.
Webster said no investigation was conducted by Tasmania Police or the Commissioner into the matter of if Douglas had been served alcohol responsibly. It was found information-sharing failed, as the commissioner had not been informed of the incident, nor any potential liquor law breaches.
The Coroner recommended licensed premises be subject to regular, random spot checks, to ensure alcohol is being served responsibly, offering that responsible service is not in the best interests of a business or licensee that “has a direct financial interest in selling as much liquor as possible” to patrons.
“Should this not occur then I expect there will continue to be deaths in similar circumstances to that of Mr Douglas … because there appears to be nothing which deters a licensee to comply with his or her obligations under the Act.”
Comments in the coroner’s report by the hotel operator defended that they do not have a culture of putting sales over patron safety, and that people were refused service when deemed close having had “too much”, but that it is very difficult to monitor individuals across multiple bar areas.
The Coroner’s office has recommended a joint initiative between police and the Commissioner for Licensing in Tasmania, which has been welcomed by authorities and it is understood the agencies are working together to facilitate regular spot checks.
