Coroner hands down finding on firey crash that killed Dale Wilson

A coroner has handed down his verdict on a fiery crash that killed a young man who was fleeing from police after they mistakenly believed his car was unregistered.

A man who died in a fiery crash while trying to evade police was to blame for his own death, a coroner has ruled.
Dale Christopher Wilson, 24, died in a car accident on July 29, 2019 after hitting a tree on Willis Drive, Normanville at substantial speed.
The Holden Commodore burst into flames almost immediately upon impact.
Mr Wilson was trapped inside during the fire and unable to be rescued.

On Friday, Deputy State Coroner Ian White ruled there was no one to blame for Mr Wilson’s death other than himself and made no recommendations.

Dale Wilson died in the crash at Normanville while evading police. Picture: Facebook.

Mr White said an unfortunate complication arose when Brevet Sergeant Darren Brown noticed the Commodore on the day of the accident and mistakenly noted its registration.
“He then conducted a registration check on the mistaken number which, by chance, generally fitted the description of the Commodore, and found it had not been registered since 2003,” Mr White said.

Sgt Brown activated the emergency lights but Mr Wilson sped off.
“Shortly thereafter he saw ‘in the distance a cloud of black smoke and immediately thought the worst, believing there had been a crash’,” Mr White said.
“By the time he arrived at the accident scene, the Commodore was alight.

“He was unable ‘to get close to the Commodore due to the fire and was unable to extinguish it or assist in any way’.”A number of civilians provided statements to SAPOL noting Wilson was driving dangerously, erratically and at extremely high speeds before the accident.

Mr White said Mr Wilson’s death was not able to be precisely determined due to the circumstances of the accident.

However, forensic pathologist Dr Stephen Wills opined that Mr Wilson’s death was due to the impact with the tree or was very rapid in the fire.

A sample of Mr Wilson’s blood post-mortem revealed the presence of a high level of methamphetamine and cannabis.

Brother of Dale Wilson, Matt Wilson at the crash site on Williss Drive in Normanville. Photo: AAP Image/ Morgan Sette

Mr White noted Mr Wilson was missed by his family.

“His mother expressed that she suffers flashbacks, anxiety and depression as a result of his death. She feels ‘a piece of my heart has been ripped away from me’,” he said.

Mr White said he linked Mr Wilson’s poor driving decisions to the effects of methamphetamine and cannabis.

“I have found that no one else is to blame for his death other than himself,” Mr White said.“I note he may have also been in a state of panic due to a belief of his mother that he was scared at the prospect of ‘going back to jail’.”

Originally published as Coroner hands down finding on firey crash that killed Dale Wilson