Jade Richards’ death: Coroner urges music festivals to help prevent fatigued driving
Following the death of 18-year-old Jade Richards in a car crash, a coroner is calling for music festivals to implement measures to prevent fatigued driving. The driver had been awake for over 22 hours after a four-day festival, leading to a fatal accident on the way home.
Why it matters
It raises important public safety questions regarding the responsibility of event organizers for the well-being of attendees after festivals conclude.
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.
Jade Richards died in a crash on her way home from Rhythm & Vines.
A coroner is urging music festivals to take greater responsibility to prevent fatigued drivers from leaving events.
The comments were made in a finding relating to the death of Rotorua teenager Jade Richards .
Richards, 18, was killed in a crash on her way home from the Rhythm & Vines music festival on New Year’s Day 2024 after the vehicle she was in rolled on SH30 near Rotorua.
The driver, her friend Jasmine Donaldson, was last year found guilty of careless driving causing death after a judge-alone trial.
Donaldson was found to have had a shortage of sleep over the four-day festival before making a “flawed decision” to drive home on what Judge John Bergseng described as some of the country’s “worst” roads.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in