File photo.
Photo: RNZ
Jackson James Aitchison, 17, died after his car crashed head-on into a tree on Ballantyne Road on 10 October.
Coroner Windley noted in her findings that Ballantyne Road was understood to have a history of motor vehicle crashes.
At the time of the crash, Ballantyne Road was an unmarked road that transitioned between sealed and gravel with two speed limits.
She said the Queenstown Lakes District Council planned to upgrade the road to a fully sealed surface.
Coroner Windley requested the Officer of the Chief Coroner be informed once the works were completed. Tags:
On the day of his death, Aitchison left his workplace at Central Machine Hire about 5.30pm in his white Toyota Corolla and headed home. The distance between the boy’s work and the scene of the crash was just over 3 kilometres and would have taken roughly four minutes to travel, an inquest heard. About 5.40pm, a motorist driving along Ballantyne Rd towards Wānaka noticed an upside-down Toyota Corolla between two poplar trees on the right side of the road. Initially he thought the car had probably been there for some time but then he noticed steam coming from the bonnet.