Driver admits manslaughter and drug charges after Tauranga Eastern Link crash

Tauranga Eastern Link. Photo / File

A 29-year-old man has admitted the manslaughter killing of a motorist following a fatal crash on the Tauranga Eastern Link earlier this year.

Benjamin Dods, who appeared in the Tauranga High Court today, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, and two charges of conspiring to deal a Class A drug and a Class B drug.

The manslaughter charge relates to the death of Uthai Phonphong after a crash that involved a car and a Toyota Hilux Surf 4WD about 11pm on January 17.

Crown solicitor Anna Pollett told Justice Van Bohemen that bail pending sentencing for Dods was opposed because of significant aggravating features to his offending.

She submitted a prison sentence was the likely outcome.

Lawyer Thomas Haare, who appeared as an agent for Dods' lawyer Craig Tuck, urged Justice Van Bohemen to grant the defendant bail, citing a number of grounds.

Justice Van Bohemen set a sentencing date for the matter in the Tauranga High Court on July 22 and reserved his decision on the question of bail.

Dods was remanded in custody in the meantime.