Cromwell drink driver faces up to 10 years in prison for fatal Queenstown crash

The driver charged in relation to the death of Royalburn butcher Tré Anderson is Hayden Richard Hurst.

The 28-year-old resident of Mount Pisa near Cromwell was caught with 131 milligrams of alcohol in his system per 100 millilitres of blood, more than double the legal limit for people over 20 years of 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres.

Mr Hurst faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and/or a $20,000 fine.

He was charged by police last Thursday, January 25, just shy of six weeks after the December 16 crash.'

Court documents today reveal details of his charge.

Mr Hurst has not applied for nor been granted name suppression and is scheduled to appear in the Queenstown District Court on March 25.

For now, he is seeking legal counsel, as police consider additional charges.

Meanwhile Mr Hurst's actions have been deemed "not a work related matter" by his employer, Paul Smith Earthmoving. 

Business compliance manager Ellen Taylor has told Crux today the company has no further updates to provide and are letting the matter be sorted by police and the courts. 

She declined to say if Mr Hurst is still an employee.

Mr Hurst was also seriously injured in the two-car collision, which happened near the Arrowtown turn-off on State Highway Six at approximately 7.30am.

Fifteen minutes before the crash, locals had posted on social media of someone driving erratically and crossing the centre line on the stretch of road, which links Queenstown and Cromwell.