A boy grieves for his mum

Chris and Sarah Kennedy are raising their nephew Matthew. Photo / Doug Sherring

Five-year-old Matthew Kennedy will grow up without his mum because one man got behind the wheel drunk.

His mother, Katherine, was killed in March on SH10 near Kerikeri when a repeat drink-driver ploughed into her Volkswagen Polo in his 4WD.

Kennedy's brother Chris who, with his wife Sarah is caring for Matthew, is angry and believes the law has let his family down.

"Matthew's lost his mum. It is a sad and tragic thing."

While his main focus remains on harsher, more effective penalties for recidivist drink-drivers, keeping drunks off our roads is a step in the right direction, he said.

"Two Drinks Max will help stop a lot of moderate people who will make mistakes. But 30 people a year are dying from recidivists who are not being stopped."

Earlier this year, Matthew, who has also lost a grandmother to a road crash, told the Herald on Sunday: "It's a shame to lose two members of your family. My mum was really strong and special too."

Katherine died in Whangarei Hospital from massive head injuries shortly after the crash.








"She has basically been wiped out," Chris said at the time.

He and his wife rushed to the hospital with Matthew but were too late. They let him say his goodbyes to his mum.

Matthew often tells Sarah he wishes his mum wasn't dead.

The driver, Warren John Jenkins, 49, had been convicted of drink-driving 17 times and had nearly 20 disqualifications.

Chris said last week the law had to be better equipped to enforce road-safety rules.

He thought the Herald on Sunday's campaign to encourage New Zealanders to take responsibility to make our roads safer and save lives was a "positive" move.

"I think when you lose someone you love it's like, you kind of try to find something positive."

Once a person has been caught drink-driving once, something needs to be done to ensure they are not allowed back on the road, he says.

"I've got compassion for people and things but you've got to trade it off with someone's rights to be free on the street with someone's right to drive safely down the road."

Jenkins pleaded guilty in July to excess breath-alcohol causing death, excess breath-alcohol level causing injury, driving while disqualified for a third or
subsequent time, driving with excess breath-alcohol for a third or subsequent time, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and assault.

In what Chris described as "a slap on the wrist", Jenkins was sentenced last month to four years
in prison.