The man charged with careless use of a vehicle causing the deaths of David Reginald Te Wira Epairama, Haki Graham Hiha and Dudley Soul Raroa, wept as he left the Whakatāne District Court.
David Michael Cox looked terrified throughout his brief appearance, keeping his head down and hands clasped at the front of his body.
Judge Louis Bidois addressed family members of the three men killed once Cox was in the dock, speaking to them in Māori and saying "kia kaha".
Cox's lawyer Gene Tomlinson, who appeared on behalf of Tauranga solicitor Tony Balme, did not apply for name suppression but did ask that media applications to film, photograph and record court proceedings be deferred until his next appearance on April 17.