A liquor store and two well-known bars north of Auckland have faced severe penalties after selling alcohol to a 16-year-old boy who died in a drink-driving crash last year. A court has since heard the teen had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit for an adult.
Silas Sims, 16, was served alcohol at three different venues in and around Matakana on 19 July last year. He was not asked for identification at any of them. Hours later, after his friends tried unsuccessfully to take his car keys, he lost control of his vehicle on Leigh Road and crashed into a power pole. He died at the scene.
An autopsy revealed he had 193 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for drivers under 20 is zero, while the limit for adults is 50mg.
Eight months after the tragedy, the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority has cancelled the licence of Matakana Liquor Centre and suspended the licences of the Leigh Sawmill Cafe and the Matakana Village Pub. The authority described the "apparent ease" with which the teenager bought alcohol as "disturbing" and "alarming".
A day of drinking ends in tragedy
The tragic sequence of events began on the afternoon of 19 July, when Silas met with two friends in Matakana. Shortly after 2pm, he walked into the Matakana Liquor Centre and bought a 700ml bottle of Jägermeister from duty manager Tracey Brown. He wasn't asked for ID.
About 90 minutes later, Silas and a friend went to the Leigh Sawmill Cafe, a popular venue 15 minutes away. There, owner and duty manager Edward Guinness sold him two beers after Silas claimed to be 18, a claim Guinness did not ask him to verify. He was, however, refused a second round when staff told him he had "had enough".
The pair then met up with a third friend and returned to the Matakana Liquor Centre. Silas purchased a four-pack of pre-mixed rum and colas, while his friend bought an 18-pack. They were served by two different staff members, and neither was asked for ID. The final purchase occurred at 5:45pm at the Matakana Village Pub, where Silas bought a rum and cola and a Guinness beer.
Despite his friends’ desperate attempts to prevent him from driving, Silas got behind the wheel. On a bend on Leigh Road, his car crossed the centre line and struck a concrete power pole. Paramedics were unable to save him.
‘He didn’t have enough fear’
Silas’s parents, Benjamin and Sarah Sims, have been instrumental in pushing for the venues to face consequences. They described their son as outgoing, fearless, and charming. “He could walk into a room and talk to anybody, from the day he could speak,” his father said.
We did want it to be a big case in so much as a wake-up call. Those sentences have been that.
His mother, Sarah, said her son looked older than his age, which may have contributed to him being served. “He is the kid that would get served. He looked 20,” she said. CCTV footage from the Matakana pub showed him stumbling, and his mother expressed her pain that nobody intervened after taking his money. “It was just a lot of bad luck, and I so wish he was here,” she added.
Venues face the consequences
The responses from the businesses varied. The Leigh Sawmill Cafe and the Matakana Village Pub accepted the police applications for suspension. However, Matakana Liquor Centre, owned by Micmat Ltd, initially denied liability, stating they had extensive signage and staff training in place. The authority found them liable, noting that despite these measures, Silas and his friend were served three times in three hours without being asked for ID. In a similar situation, Toronto fights Ontario's airport takeover plan.
The individual duty managers also faced penalties. Tracey Brown from the liquor store and Edward Guinness from the Sawmill Cafe had their manager's certificates suspended for two and eight weeks, respectively. Christopher King, the duty manager at Matakana Village Pub, received a 12-week suspension. He claimed Silas showed no "red flags" of intoxication, a statement the authority found "difficult to understand" given the fatal crash occurred just 20 minutes later.
As a result of the rulings, the Leigh Sawmill Cafe’s licence was suspended for two weeks in April. The Matakana Village Pub, now under new ownership, faces a 21-day suspension from 29 April. The Matakana Liquor Centre was given 21 days to close, though its lawyer has confirmed an appeal against the cancellation has been lodged. The case remains before the coroner, and police have not ruled out future criminal charges.
A wider problem and a call for change
The failure to check Silas's age highlights a persistent issue. In a recent compliance operation unrelated to this case, Auckland police found that three out of 36 liquor stores tested sold alcohol to minors. Sergeant Michael Haydon expressed disappointment, stating, “A very basic requirement for anyone selling alcohol is to ask for ID and then calculate the correct age from that identification.” This tragic incident follows a number of similar cases across the country, prompting calls for stricter enforcement from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) New Zealand.
In their grief, Silas’s parents have channeled their energy into advocacy. His father, Benjamin, discovered that his son's bank had flagged the alcohol purchases as "restricted" on his statement because he was underage. He has since launched a petition, now before a parliamentary committee, to compel banks to block or restrict such payments automatically for underage account holders. "It's not about alcohol; it's about all restricted goods," he said. This proactive approach, he says, has been a positive way to cope with their loss and work towards preventing another family from experiencing the same heartbreak.
