Whyman pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, three counts of dangerous driving causing injury and two charges of ill-treatment and neglect of a child. Those charges relate to the crash.
She also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and unlawfully using a motor vehicle on December 21, 2023, a further charge of unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle on January 4, 2024 and theft of petrol on January 21, 2024. The January offences were committed while on bail. She also admitted two counts of failing to answer district court bail.
Crown prosecutor Kris Bucher described Whyman’s actions as “an accident waiting to happen”.
Offending ‘defies belief’
Judge Geoghegan outlined the facts, saying Whyman drank five to six alcoholic drinks before taking her two children, aged 12 weeks and 3, to their father’s in Taupō.
The baby was in a baby capsule but it wasn’t attached to the car. The 3-year-old was in the backseat but wasn’t in an approved car seat. A 16-year-old known to Whyman was in the passenger seat.
Still consuming alcohol while driving, Whyman started using her mobile phone to “go live” on Facebook.
This livestream showed her doing more than 130km/h on State Highway 5 as she flicked the camera between the odometer and self-portrait mode.
She drove like that for about 15 minutes while overtaking vehicles and speeding.
About 6pm, she turned into Settlers Rd and lost control on a straight. Her car flipped and came to rest about 50m from the road.
All four people in the car were injured.
Whyman’s baby was so badly injured, she wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse when members of the public rushed to help.
The baby suffered a traumatic brain injury that required surgery. She also suffered a liver laceration, pulmonary contusions and vertebral fractures.
Her 3-year-old suffered a subretinal haemorrhage and multiple lacerations to the face and head.
The 16-year-old suffered an injured pelvis, a laceration to her spleen and kidney and a punctured lung.
Whyman’s blood alcohol level showed she had 38mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 50mg.
Judge Geoghegan said it “defies belief” she went on to offend again in a similar way just a few months later on December 21.
She was spotted by the police Eagle helicopter in Greenlane, Auckland, speeding and driving a stolen car with passengers inside.
She made a series of high-speed manoeuvres and narrowly missed oncoming vehicles. She crossed the centre line several times and police had to use road spikes to stop her.
On January 4 and while on bail for her prior offending, she was found driving another stolen vehicle in Auckland and on January 21, she was caught stealing $115 worth of diesel from a service station in Paeroa.
Factors in sentencing
Whyman had convictions for failing to stop, fighting and burglary.
Judge Geoghegan said Whyman had seven children, all of whom were now in the care of Oranga Tamariki – something he described as a “tragedy” for them all.
A victim impact statement received from a family member who now cared for the two children injured in the crash, and another of Whyman’s children, said the baby continued to exhibit severe psychological and physical challenges.
Judge Geoghegan said Whyman explained her offending by saying she was a solo parent and needed a break and couldn’t find anyone to look after her children so had no choice but to drive to Taupō.
“That is all well and good Ms Whyman, you were perfectly entitled to do that. But what you were not entitled to do was to consume alcohol and drive in the incredibly dangerous manner you did.”
He said a key aggravating factor was she drove while distracted and “showing off”.
“This is an increasingly concerning aspect of road safety. The compulsion people have to record dangerous driving such as yours and to broadcast it on a social media platform as though it is something to be proud of.”
He said the children’s vulnerability was a factor.
“This is not a case where the children could shout out and protest in an endeavour to stop what was happening. [They] were completely vulnerable to any decision you made that day around driving.”
He gave a starting point of three years for the crash and uplifted it by 12 months for the other offending that followed.
He gave 15% discount for her guilty plea and 15% discount for factors in her upbringing and personal circumstances – including methamphetamine and alcohol issues.
He gave no discounts for remorse mainly because she didn’t plead guilty immediately.
He gave a further three-month discount for her time spent on electronically-monitored bail, bringing her final jail term down to two years and six months' jail.
“Although I accept that is a burden you will carry for the rest of your life and is a penalty in itself.”
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
