Coroner Clears Volkswagen: No Evidence Of Power Loss In Melbourne Death

It was a tragedy that left a young woman dead, and a family and fiancé grieving. It also swept up Volkswagen Australia in a media storm of finger-pointing and blame.  

However, the Victorian Coroner Heather Spooner has, in her finding, found no evidence that the cause of the crash that killed 32 year-old Melissa Ryan was related to a malfunction of her car, a manual Volkswagen Golf.

Ms Ryan was hit from behind on the Monash Freeway in January 2011 by a B-double truck, after her Golf apparently decelerated suddenly.

The truck driver said that he had not seen Ms Ryan's brake lights come on.

Road Safety