Coroner releases says alcohol a factor in how Stuart Hwy stowaway died near Devils Marbles
A drunk man who hitched a ride on a moving bus was unable to keep a firm grip because he was holding a bottle of rum in one hand, the coroner has found.
Northern Territory
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A drunk man who hitched a ride on a moving bus was unable to keep a firm grip because he was holding a bottle of rum in one hand, the coroner has found.
In light of a horror 2024 on Territory roadswhere 60 people lost their lives, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she would publish “anonymised findings” concerning all the road deaths.
She made the comment in the first of the released findings, published on Wednesday, which examined why a 37-year-old man was found dead on the side of the Stuart Hwy on March 19, 2024.
She determined the man’s cause of death to be from blunt force trauma when falling from the trailer of a Greyhound bus while under the influence of alcohol.
“He was run over by the wheels of the trailer and came to rest, concealed by long grass, in a spoon drain,” she said in her findings.
On the night of his death, Ms Armitage said the man – who was not on the banned drinkers register – was out drinking with friends, travelling between Devils Marbles hotel, Tennant Creek, and their home community.
After drinking for a number of hours, when travelling back to their home community, the blue Ford Falcon they were driving became bogged on the side of the Stuart Hwy, Ms Armitage said.
The passengers flagged down a passing Greyhound bus at 2.55am, who stopped and agreed to take two “of the more sober and less aggressive” passengers to the nearest roadhouse to get help, Ms Armitage said.
Ms Armitage said it was at this time the 37-year-old tried to stowaway on the trailer by sitting on the drawbar, however, two of his friends pulled him off.
“However, as the coach pulled away, he climbed back on. He cannot have had a firm grip because in one hand he was holding a bottle of rum. Unsurprisingly, but tragically for his family and community, he fell from the drawbar after travelling on it for 10 minutes and 45 seconds,” her findings said.
“No fault is attributed to the driver or co-driver as neither knew that the deceased had hitched a ride, he ultimately climbed onto the drawbar just as the coach was ready to depart, and the drawbar was hidden from their view.”
The bus driver did not a “live view” of CCTV footage on the rear of the bus, Ms Armitage said.
Before becoming bogged, Ms Armitage said two bottles of rum were consumed on the drive down by the group, during which the deceased was sitting “unrestrained” on the centre console.
Toxicological analysis found the man had a blood-alcohol level of 0.23 per cent.
He was found about 25km north of Devils Marbles.
Family members who had not seen him for days found him when they were conducting their own search for him, Ms Armitage said in her findings.
“It is hoped that by making findings about the circumstances of these deaths public, this will improve individual and agency awareness as to the causes of road fatalities, with the ultimate objective of saving lives and reducing the road death toll in the future,” Ms Armitage said.
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