A coronial inquiry into the death of a woman in outback Queensland has ruled she was driving the four-wheel drive that rolled and killed her on a remote property five years ago.
Nineteen-year-old Madeleine 'Maddie' Moroney and her then-boyfriend Jack Dalton-Edgley were travelling in the vehicle in Windorah on August 12, 2017 when the driver lost control when swerving to avoid a calf on a dirt road.
The car rolled and ejected Ms Moroney, who died at the scene.
Ms Moroney, who worked as a governess in Birdsville, travelled to Windorah to attend a rodeo with friends.
The inquiry, led by Coroner David O'Connell, sought to clarify the circumstances of the accident after conflicting reports were given about who was driving the car when it crashed.
In his findings, Coroner O'Connell said both Ms Moroney and Mr Dalton-Edgley had been at a pub in Windorah the evening of the incident, where they consumed alcohol and the illicit drug methylenedioxyamphetamine or MDA.
While at the pub, the couple had a fight, prompting Ms Moroney to leave and walk to the rodeo showgrounds.
It is understood Mr Dalton-Edgley then drove his car around the showgrounds until he found Ms Moroney, and the pair set off to drive around 5 kilometres back to a farmhouse on a nearby cattle station to stay the night.
Coroner O'Connell noted both were above the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle at the time, and well under the influence of MDA, which caused feelings of euphoria and a loss of physical restraint.
Mr Dalton-Edgley was able to free himself from the car after it overturned and ran for help to the nearby farmhouse when he realised Ms Moroney was pinned under the vehicle and critically injured.
"The likely cause of the accident was that the driver appeared to have observed a calf on the road, and so swerved, over-corrected the steering, and the vehicle rolled over when it left the well-trafficked part of the road," Coroner O'Connell noted in his findings.
"The driver at the time was affected by alcohol and illicit drugs, which would have adversely affected their decision-making capabilities."
A forensic pathologist determined it was unlikely Ms Moroney had been ejected through the car's windscreen, with a more reasonable explanation being that she was thrown from the driver's side window, which was rolled partly down.
The court heard there was some evidence that pointed to Ms Moroney not wearing a seatbelt.
After the accident, Mr Dalton-Edgley's version of events changed a number of times.
In one account, he told a local grazier "I've rolled the car. Maddie is under the car".
In another version, he told a witness the couple had had an argument and switched drivers, and that he "was asleep on the passenger side and woke up when they came around the corner and she swerved to miss cattle".
But Mr Dalton-Edgley later indicated in a text message exchange with a friend that he had researched DUI charges and manslaughter after the accident.
Coroner O'Connell concluded that the text messages were "consistent with a young man inexperienced in such legal matters who is dealing with rumours from a small town that he could be charged over the incident".
"Nothing in the text messages points to any direct admission that he was driving when the vehicle rolled over and so, to my mind, this is not persuasive evidence that can assist me with what I must determine."
