A street race killed Auckland couple Jill and David McArthur. Now police stand accused of incompetence as a driver escapes with fine and disqualification

Two young drivers raced their cars through suburban East Auckland one weekday afternoon last year, past a childcare centre and medical clinic at well over double the speed limit. Their race ended in a crash which killed a much-loved local couple in their 80s. Now one of the drivers has escaped with a $1000 fine and a disqualification as bereaved family members accuse police of an incompetent prosecution. George Block reports.

Every day, no matter how grim the weather, Jill and David McArthur would head out to walk their dogs.

The couple, still fit and active in their 80s after 54 years of marriage, were a familiar sight in the East Auckland suburb of Golflands.

They enjoyed gardening, painting and walking their dogs. Both were remembered for their artistic abilities, kindness and great love of animals.

“They were the heart of my whole family,” their son Luke said.

“These were the best parents in the world.”

Their granddaughter fondly described being picked up in their “little blue car” for outings to art exhibitions or Burger King.

Around the same time they were returning in their car from a dog walk on the afternoon of May 31 last year, Jessica De Kriek was driving with her boyfriend.

De Kriek pulled up at the lights in her Hyundai Getz alongside the teenage driver of a BMW, who cannot be named because of his age at the time.

She and the BMW driver exchanged a look as they waited at the red light at the intersection of Te Irirangi and Te Rakau Drives, both first in line on the two-lane road.

What happened next can be revealed after the Herald was granted the right to publish Youth Court proceedings and obtain court documents related to the prosecutions of the drivers.

The way police handled the investigation and prosecution has been criticised by members of the McArthur family because of the low-level charge brought against one of the drivers, among other reasons.

Police on Friday confirmed they are undertaking a review of the case at the request of the family.

Travelling in the young BMW driver’s car were two of his family members.

Their presence didn’t stop him from wanting to race De Kriek in her Hyundai.

Jill, 81, and David McArthur, 83, died after a crash on Botany Rd on May 31, 2023 in Auckland. A BMW racing another car driven by Jessica De Kriek collided with their hatchback. Jill died at the scene and David died in hospital two days later.

Before they pulled up alongside each other at the busy intersection, traffic cameras had captured the two cars weaving in and out of traffic in convoy on Te Irirangi Drive, a major arterial route from Manukau towards the East Auckland suburbs.

There is no evidence they knew each other before that day.

Once the light turned green, both young drivers floored it, speeding north as Te Irirangi Drive became Botany Rd.

Traffic cameras captured them racing at 120km/h as they sped north past an early childhood centre and a medical practice.

They made it less than 1km down the road.

David McArthur was driving south on Botany Rd in his blue Honda hatchback.

His wife Jill was in the front passenger seat with one of their dogs on her lap, the other was in the back.

A police summary of facts said McArthur went to turn right from the centre median onto Golflands Drive as the BMW driver and De Kriek approached at more than twice the usual speed of traffic in the area.

McArthur turned, missed De Kriek’s Hyundai then collided with the BMW that had just been clocked at 123km/h.

The BMW smashed into the passenger side of the McArthur’s Honda, sending the hatchback airborne as it rolled towards the corner of the intersection, eventually coming to rest next to a brick wall.

Jill, 81, died at the scene, as did their beagle Misty Rose.

David’s life support was switched off at Middlemore Hospital two days later, he was 83.

“Mum died on a cold road surrounded by the people who killed her,” their daughter Shelley McArthur-Dye told the court at De Kriek’s sentencing.

“Driving home innocently from walking their dogs. After 54 years of marriage.”

Shelley described De Kriek’s actions as “violent, illegal, mindless, ego-driven speeding”.

The BMW driver and his mother and sister walked from the wreck largely unscathed.

He declined to speak to police after the crash.

Police at the scene of the crash on Botany Rd after the crash that claimed the lives of David and Jill McArthur, who were travelling in their blue Honda Logo when they collided with a street racing teen. Photo / Darren Masters

De Kriek admitted racing.

She said it was only meant to be a bit of fun and she wasn’t thinking of possible consequences, court documents state.

Police laid two charges of “unnecessary exhibition of speed or acceleration causing death” against the BMW driver, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

He later pleaded guilty to the charges in the Youth Court.

At a hearing on Tuesday in the Youth Court at Manukau before Judge Soana Moala, his youth advocate, barrister Sarah Mandeno, said he had completed his agreed community work hours at a rest home, where he had reflected on what he had done.

He is on bail and will next appear for a disposition hearing on July 31. Several options will be available to the judge, including a fine, supervision order or a transfer to the District Court for sentencing.

“I acknowledge your suffering, something none of us can even imagine,” Judge Moala told members of the McArthur family in court.

“I appreciate that the process is painful and long.”

Judge Moala granted the Herald’s application to report Youth Court proceedings, automatically suppressed in their entirety unless a judge rules otherwise.

But a judge cannot waive the statutory suppression granted to young people before the Youth Court and their families, so the driver is unable to be named.

De Kriek was only charged with operating a vehicle in a race, carrying a maximum penalty of three months in prison.

Family and friends of Jill and David McArthur outside the Manukau District court after the sentencing of Jessica De Kriek on May 21 (from left) Auckland Beagle Club president Ray Linton-Brown and his wife, vice-president Sandra Linton-Brown, Luke McArthur, Shan McArthur, their granddaughter Cassie McArthur-Dye, Sean McArthur, Marie Campbell, Blair Dye, Shelley McArthur-Dye, Hayley Thompson, Lyn Watts and Wayne Watts. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Luke said he and other family members wanted both teens to have faced the same charge, one that covered the deaths.

He said they had both put many lives at risk by speeding near a medical clinic and birthing centre on a weekday afternoon just before 3pm.

Luke believes there was deal-making behind the scenes relating to the charges that the family were not privy to.

It was a view echoed by other family members, who told the Herald they feel they have been shown a lack of respect by police and the justice system and feel let down.

Luke said he understood police may have wanted to use De Kriek as a witness against the BMW driver, who initially did not make a statement to the police and, as a result, they may have agreed to have her plead to a more minor charge in anticipation of her giving evidence.

He said an experienced officer whom they initially dealt with wanted to lay a more serious charge against the BMW driver, but told the family he met with pushback from his managers.

Luke took aim at police in the victim impact statement he read to the court, claiming their “incompetence” led to them laying a “nothing charge” against De Kriek that did not mention the deaths in the accompanying court documents.

It is a view supported by other family members, who said they also believe the wrong charge was laid against De Kriek and who feel disappointed in how police handled the case and communicated with them.

At an earlier, aborted sentencing hearing, De Kriek did not show up, with her lawyer telling the court she had another engagement.

The judge and police prosecutor in court were unaware the family wanted to read victim impact statements or that the race was linked to the deaths of the McArthurs.

A police spokesman declined to go into details on the decisions behind the charges that were laid against the BMW driver and De Kriek, citing the ongoing Youth Court proceedings.

“What we can say is that charges were well considered in this case alongside all available evidence,” the spokesman said.

“The circumstances and actions of all parties in this case were considered when making charging decisions.”

Jessica De Kriek is shielded by a family member as she leaves the Manukau District Court after she was fined and disqualified for street racing. She and a young man were racing their vehicles before a crash that killed an innocent couple. Photo / Jason Oxenham

When De Kriek appeared for sentencing at the Manukau District Court on May 21, the case was handled by a community magistrate, a judicial officer ranking below a judge who deals with minor matters and does not have the power to sentence offenders to prison.

The police summary of facts to which De Kriek admitted does not mention the deaths or allege her role in the race was linked to the crash.

But Community Magistrate Russell Bagley acknowledged the deaths after reading the summary of facts.

“We know as a result of that race there was a collision involving the BMW and the driver which regretfully and sadly resulted in the deaths of two whānau,” he said.

De Kriek appeared ashen-faced and unsure where to look as members of the McArthur family described the impact of the crash caused by the race.

Shelley spoke of the time she spent in hospital alongside her father before his life support was switched off.

“I slept on the hospital floor praying he wouldn’t die along with Mum,” she said.

“This is what you racing that day did to my father. None of this was their fault they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Mum and Dad were fit, they were healthy, they had possibly 10 to 15 years of life left.”

Bagley said De Kriek had abandoned an earlier application for a discharge without conviction and had now taken responsibility.

The magistrate’s comment was met with incredulous laughter from the McArthur family.

He said De Kriek was currently working and studying and had undertaken a defensive driving course.

“We’re not dealing with a hardened criminal here,” Bagley said.

“We’re dealing with a young lady who made a dumb decision that day.

“I suspect it will live with her for the rest of her days as well.”

Bagley convicted De Kriek, fined her $1000 plus $130 court costs and imposed a nine-month driving disqualification, three months higher than the minimum disqualification he was required by law to impose.

The way officers handled the prosecution is now the subject of a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).

Police confirmed on Friday a review into the case was under way.

“At the request of the McArthur family Police are reviewing processes and decisions made in this investigation,” police said in a statement.

George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.