Coroner's message after night at the pub ends in two deaths

Author: Kelly Mahika ,
Publish Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026, 7:23am

Tangiwai Arihia Heurea and her partner died when she was driving them home after a night of drinking and crashed in Ōpōtiki. Photo / Stock image 123rf

Michael John Sadler and Tangiwai Arihia Heurea were regulars at Slims Bar in Ōpōtiki.

It was where they spent their last night, drinking heavily on February 10, 2023.

The next day, their bodies were found inside a crashed car at the bottom of a steep embankment at the edge of State Highway 35, between Ōpōtiki and Maraenui.

Their deaths were referred to a coroner, whose findings from an inquiry were released today.

The couple, who lived in Maraenui, arrived at Slims Bar at 5.30pm on February 10 and left at 1.10am.

CCTV footage from the bar showed they left with Heurea driving their Subaru Forester car and Sadler in the passenger seat.

About 14 hours later, a motorist noticed tyre marks on SH35, about 15km from Ōpōtiki, in the gravel at the edge of a cliff.

The witness investigated and found a crashed car resting in a creek at the bottom of a steep roadside embankment, the finding said.

The witness contacted emergency services, who found the couple’s bodies inside the crashed car.

Neither of them had been wearing seatbelts and both recorded high blood alcohol levels.

Heurea’s was nearly five times the legal blood alcohol limit to drive.

The legal limit for drivers aged over 20 is 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Toxicology testing found Heurea had 245mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Sadler’s level was 280mg.

The findings

Associate Coroner Stephen Burdes, who headed the Coroner’s Court inquiry, said the dangers of driving while intoxicated and not wearing seatbelts were well-advertised.

He said he could not add anything to the warnings that were already known and available.

Instead, he released the findings to the media in the hope publication about the couple’s deaths would “serve as an example of the devastating consequences of driving while intoxicated”.

He concluded the crash happened because Heurea lost control due to high levels of alcohol intoxication.

She lost control on a gentle right-hand bend, having first crossed over the left-hand edge of the road. The time of the crash was not known but it was likely not long after they left the bar.

The road was considered in good condition and it was a dry and warm night.

A crash analysis by police calculated Heurea would have been travelling between 77km/h and 84km/h when she lost control.

Burdes said the couple died from injuries as a result of the crash.

He said their failure to wear seatbelts was a contributory cause, noting Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency evidence that said wearing a seatbelt increases the chance of surviving a crash by 40%.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.