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The 47-year-old who admitted causing the death of a school librarian following a crash in the Canterbury village of Castle Hill earlier this month was driving on the wrong side of the road when the fatal collision occurred.
Court documents provided to the Herald today state the crash happened soon after the man - an overseas national - had stopped with his wife and child to take photographs and had just returned to the road to continue their trip when the crash occurred.
Sue Johnson, the librarian at John Paul II High School in Greymouth, was with her husband Ian - principal of St Patrick’s School in Greymouth - when the man collided head on with their car on West Coast Rd on Sunday, January 14.
Ian Johnson and four other people were injured in the crash which happened just before 5pm.
The man was charged with one count of careless or inconsiderate vehicle operation causing the death of Sue Johnson and one of careless or inconsiderate vehicle operation causing injury to her husband.
He appeared in the Christchurch District Court before Judge Katie Elkin on Monday and pleaded guilty to both charges.
He was granted interim name suppression on the basis the situation was “still raw” and he had not had a chance to tell either his family overseas or the company he worked for.
The District Court provided the police summary of facts to the Herald today, outlining the specific details of the fatal incident.
Police say the man was returning to Christchurch from an undisclosed location before the crash.
The visitor to New Zealand pleaded guilty today. Photo / George Heard
He stopped at Lake Lyndon to take photographs with his wife and child.
At 4.45pm he got back behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi Outlander he was driving and restarted the family’s journey.
At the same time, the Johnsons were heading in the opposite direction.
“A short time later the defendant has crossed the centre line in the westbound lane and collided head-on with the victim’s vehicle,” police said.
“As a result of the impact [Ian Johnson, who was driving] suffered a compound fracture to his right arm. The second victim was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Police said the offender told them he “couldn’t remember what side of the road” he was driving on before the crash.
“However, he saw the other vehicle coming towards him and attempted to avoid the crash by steering his car to the right,” police said.
Further, he claimed, “the other vehicle then changed direction again and turned their vehicle back into the line of his vehicle”.
“[He] could not avoid the collision and they crashed.”
On Monday, Judge Elkin granted the killer driver bail on three conditions - that he did not drive a vehicle, that he surrendered his passport and that he did not apply for any travel documents.
He is seeking a Restorative Justice meeting before sentencing with the family of his victims.
He faces a maximum of three months in prison for each charge he has admitted, or fines of $4500 for each count.
John Paul II principal Renee Hutchinson earlier told the Herald that Johnson will be “sadly missed.
“Sue was known for her good humour and laughter,” Hutchinson said.
