Jailed for killing fathers

The man who killed Tauranga fathers Vincent Hyland and Clayton Woodward and seriously injured two others after he lost control of a milk tanker has been jailed for two years and six months.
At an emotionally charged marathon sentencing hearing in Tauranga District Court, the victims of dangerous driver Ryan Harrison finally got to hear him apologise, something for which they had waited more than 21 months.
Harrison's apology came after he heard from the dead men's parents, their widows, in-laws and a large number of other victims who read out their sad victim impact statements, each slating him for his lack of expressions of regret.
The hearing lasted almost five hours and followed Harrison, 30, being found guilty by jury last month of two counts of dangerous driving causing the deaths of Mr Hyland and Mr Woodward.
Harrison was also found guilty on two counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury to Grant Collett, 36, and his stepson Samuel Stewart, 16, _ both passengers in Mr Hyland's vehicle.
Mr Hyland, 38, had one son and Mr Woodward, 28, also had a son and was about to become a dad again. They died when Harrison's 46-tonne B-train tanker slammed into their separate 4WDs at Tauriko near Redwood Lane on October 8, 2006.
Harrison was driving down Tauriko hill at a speed conservatively estimated at 111km/h when he turned left into a bend too sharply and lost control.
One trailer rolled, dragging the second trailer and B-train unit with it, slamming into Mr Hyland's and Mr Woodward's vehicles.
Mr Collett suffered chest injuries, a fractured dislocated right elbow requiring surgery, a large haemotoma in his left hip and blood clots in his right leg while Sam suffered chest and head injury.
No longer able to cope with the physical demands of his building work, Mr Collett had to change his career, and is yet to fully recover from his injuries while his stepson suffered a permanent brain injury.
Harrison wept as he stood and read out a prepared statement in court on Friday.
He first thanked Land Transport New Zealand for making improvements to the stretch of highway, then his parents and supporters, ``God' for giving him strength and lastly he apologised to his victims.
"The last 21 months have been extremely difficult for me, so much has happened and yet things seemed to have stopped and it is so difficult to even imagine life before this tragedy.
"To the many family and friends of Vince and Clayton I must apologise for putting you all through the stress of trial, it couldn't have been easy for you.
"I know I should have pleaded guilty from the start but I genuinely couldn't remember what happened and my last memory was of the truck not speeding."
Harrison said he had "prayed for Vince and Clayton" every night since the crash and would continue to do so. He said he wished he had died instead of them.
Crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne urged Judge Peter Rollo to impose a custodial sentence starting at three years.
Harrison's lawyer Bill Nabney argued a home detention sentence was the appropriate sanction given his client's lack of prior convictions and his otherwise exemplary driving record and previous good character.
But Judge Rollo said he agreed with the Crown that given that Harrison was unemployed and living with his parents, a sentence of home detention would not have a significant punitive effect on him.
Judge Rollo admonished Harrison for his failure to offer any earlier expressions of regret to families which was the usual "significant human response" to such a tragedy.