Lord of the Rings fan killed after accepting lift
Joseph Snode was on his way to Christchurch when the driver giving him a lift lost control of her vehicle. Photo: supplied/GoFundMe
An inquest into the death of a 26-year-old backpacker from the United Kingdom has concluded the cause to be a "road traffic collision".
Joseph Snode died in a single-vehicle crash on the West Coast on 28 January 2024.
Three other passengers had also suffered from minor injuries in the crash on Otira Highway, Jacksons in Westland.
The BBC reported that Snode was on his way to Christchurch when the driver giving him a lift lost control of her vehicle, an inquest at Essex Coroner's Court in Chelmsford was told.
Area coroner Michelle Brown said Snode had been "offered a lift by a lady and her teenage children". The driver was later sentenced after admitting a charge of the careless use of a vehicle causing death.
Brown ruled Snode, a bar manager at Buckinghamshire New University, had died from multiple head and chest injuries.
His mother, Elaine Snode, said he was "living his dream life" before it was taken from him.
Joseph was a Lord of the Rings fan, and had always wanted to visit, with Hobbiton one of the first stops on his holiday here - he was killed days later.
"He was given a lift in a car to Christchurch that crashed, killing him instantly, the other occupants had minor injuries," Elaine said then.
Snode had arrived in New Zealand in early January last year.
"He visited Hobbiton and other Lord of the Rings sites and had a few days hiking on his own along the Abel Tasman Coast Track. We had no idea these magical days were to be his final days in New Zealand."
Snode's body was repatriated to the United Kindom after a GoFundMe was created - alongside insurance - which also covered the funeral costs.
On the GoFundMe page, his mother, Elaine, wrote: "He was literally living his dream life before it was taken from him."
She said her son was "always full of life and a loving, caring, intelligent young man" who she described as "one-in-a-billion".
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