72-year-old accused of killing motorcyclist on Wellington Motorway cannot be named yet

The woman appeared in the Wellington District Court this morning. Photo / File

The 72-year-old woman accused of killing a motorcyclist while driving the wrong way on a Wellington motorway cannot be named yet for her safety.

The woman appeared in the Wellington District Court this morning for her second appearance on a charge of careless driving causing the death of 25-year-old Samuel Jackson-Seligman-Lemaire - know by friends as Evak.

Jackson-Seligman-Lemaire, who has Black Power connections, died in the early hours of December 29 when the woman allegedly crashed into him on State Highway 1 near Johnsonville.

Judge Peter Hobbs said in court today some "correspondence" had been presented to him which suggested threats had been made towards the woman.

The woman's lawyer was unable to make a proper argument for name suppression today, however, because the defendant lives remotely and did not provide a phone number for her lawyer.

A fuller name suppression application will be made at a later date.

Judge Hobbs said on the face of it there were "legitimate potential grounds" for the defendant to get name suppression, so ordered her name to remain secret until the matter could be argued further.

The woman was remanded without plea to early February.

Friends and loved ones have poured out tributes for Jackson-Seligman-Lemaire on Facebook, telling the Wellington man to "fly high in paradise".

Some called him "solid" and a "positive soul".

"Evak rest easy YOZA gone but never forgotten g," one woman wrote.

"Rest easy brother vak (Sam) gone way to soon brother," said another.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry said a motorist not involved in the crash had noticed a woman driving south on the northbound lanes of the motorway near Johnsonville that morning.

He said the warning call was made "about simultaneously" with the crash itself, and did not give police time to intercept.

Police said fatigue was a factor in the crash.

"In this incident, the driver originated from an area a large number of hours away from Wellington," Verry said in a statement after the crash.

The woman, who has not entered a plea to the charge yet, will reappear in court later this month.