A Southland farm worker who died after doing drunken burn-outs on a quad bike told friends "you ain't seen nothing yet" just moments before the fatal crash.
Father of two Ashley James Boake, 26, was killed after he lost control of the bike and rolled into a ditch on Tiwai Rd in Woodend, near Invercargill, on February 9.
In findings released yesterday, Coroner David Crerar warned of the "potentially fatal consequences" of driving or riding a vehicle while affected by alcohol or drugs.
He found the crash was partly caused by the effects of consuming alcohol, cannabis and the prescription pain-killer tramadol.
Mr Boake had been drinking beer and pre-mixed rum and cola at a party on the dairy farm where he lived and worked.
He had also smoked cannabis and took at least two tramadol tablets.
During the evening, Mr Boake showed off his skills on the farm's Honda quad bike by doing burn-outs on the concrete pad outside his cottage.
Encouraged by his friends, he said "you ain't seen nothing yet" and rode out onto the road.
He performed some donuts before the quad bike veered off into a drainage ditch.
His friends went looking for him and found him pinned under the bike, face down in the water, with the front wheel of the bike lodged against his shoulders and neck.
Mr Boake suffered multiple fractured ribs, a torn lung and asphyxia.
A police serious crash unit examination found donut skid marks in the loose gravel at the scene.
Investigators found Mr Boake had turned left into the road in a "power slide" which put his quad bike onto a rough grass verge.
He tried to steer back onto the road, without braking, but the left wheels of the bike caught the edge of the steep side of the ditch.
Mr Boake was thrown into the water and the quad bike rolled onto him.
Toxicology results showed he had consumed twice the legal limit of alcohol and smoked the equivalent of one cannabis joint in the past eight hours.
Coroner Crerar noted conflicting evidence as to whether Mr Boake had been prescribed tramadol or was taking someone else's.
He said while Mr Boake died while driving a quad bike, the incident must not be termed a "quad bike death" as it would in a farming situation.
"Ashley Boake was a drunk driver and a drugged driver."
Coroner Crerar reassured his family that he had died quickly and he was unlikely to have suffered.
He noted the "tragic consequences" of consuming alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs and driving.
