An inquest has heard how the body of a man who drowned after a car crash was not found for several hours, because neither the driver nor the car's other passenger told police about him.
George Porter, 40, wasn't wearing a seatbelt when the car in which he was a passenger drifted onto the gravel on State Highway 35, near Opape Beach Rd, Opotoki, in December 2011.
The driver lost control and the car veered across both lanes and into the embankment.
Mr Porter was thrown through the front windscreen, and became trapped beneath the vehicle and submerged in water as it came to rest in a drain.
About two and a half hours later, police got a call that a body had been found
They say neither the driver, nor the other passenger of the car, had told them about Mr Porter having been in the car.
Sgt Raymond Wylie told the inquest the driver and other passenger were uncooperative with police.
