Tristian Ceciel Grant Beckett, 19, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and was the only surviving member of the incident not to give evidence at the hearing yesterday.

Thomas Kelson Hillman, 18, who was one of five people in a car on Blenheim's Howick Road last October, died in the fire.

Crown prosecutor Glen Marshall said all five were inhaling gas from a 9kg LPG cylinder, normally used for operating a gas BBQ, before an explosion inside the car.

"They continued to talk and pass it around for 10 to 15 minutes. The car at this time was thick with LPG gas and this was obvious because of the strong smell," Marshall said.

He said Beckett was laughing and holding a cigarette lighter to the roof of the car, flicking it.

The owner of the vehicle, Crystal Rivers, said she heard Beckett flick a lighter. It failed to light and then she heard it again.

"I heard a noise, whoomph and then there were blue flames everywhere. I do remember that I was burning alive so my natural instinct was to get out of the vehicle as quick as possible. I rolled across the road, into the gutter.

"The only thing I could think was to stop, drop and roll because I was on fire," Rivers said.

She said a group including herself, Beckett, Myles Peterson and Alixandria Hilliard had been inhaling gas from the cylinder throughout the afternoon.

They had just stopped in to see Hillman a short time before the accident and he also joined them in the car where they all continued to inhale the gas for a few more minutes before the explosion.

Rivers, Peterson and Hilliard all told the court that Beckett was the first of the three teenage males to get out of the back seat of the two-door car. He removed the cylinder, still flaming, and carried it away from the car before returning to get Hillman out.

Pathologist Martin Sage told the court that Hillman would have died very quickly from his injuries which resulted from inhaling hot gas into his lungs.

Rivers spent eight days in Wairau Hospital with burns to her left arm and shoulder, face and eye socket.

Peterson spent almost four weeks in hospital with burns to both arms and half his face.

He required a skin graft on his lower arm.

Justices of the Peace Gregory Weake and Angela Brott continued Beckett's bail yesterday afternoon. The depositions hearing is expected to last three days.

Not sure if it qualifies, as the act of using the lighter wasn't done by the person who died. But seiously, who sits around inhaling flammable gas in a confined space for entertainment!!

Submitted on 02/04/2008

Submitted by: Jared Bradley
Reference: October 2006 - The Christchurch Press, New Zealand, August 2007

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Well, it's about time! The facts on this rather old case are finally in, and as it turns out the victim was in fact a willing participant and not a bystander! For more info, see the archives! Thanks, Jared!

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Amazing. Sniffing a highly flammable gas and then flicking a lighter. It boggles the mind that people can be that stupid. Thanks, Jared!

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