Community Corner

Seat Belts Could Have Saved Four BU Students Who Died in New Zealand

Four B.U. students who died in a car accident in New Zealand last year could have been saved if they had been wearing their seat belts, according to authorities.

Seat belts could have saved the lives of the three Boston University students who were killed in New Zealand last May when their minivan rolled over, according to new testimony from authorities. 

According to the Boston Herald, Constable Tina Mitchell-Ellis told a coroner’s court on Wednesday that the three who died and the fourth student who suffered brain trauma weren’t wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the van.

There were four other students in the van who were wearing their seatbelts who suffered minor injuries.

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All the BU students were studying abroad in New Zealand and were on their way to a scenic hike.

Police told the Herald that drugs and alcohol were not involved in the accident, and that the driver was not speeding on the rural roads. Police said that it was the driver’s first time driving on New Zealand roads. According to the report, the driver became distracted and drove onto the side of the road, which caused him to overcorrect the steering wheel, causing the van to flip four times. Last year, the driver, Stephen Houseman, plead guilty to careless driving and was disqualified from driving for six months.

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Austin Brasher of California and Roch Jauberty of France, 21, and Daniela Lehno of New Jersey, 20, were killed. Meg Theriault of Massachusetts suffered head injuries, but returned to Boston University after cranial surgery. 

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