'Chicken run' death crash gets four years

Killing his cousin after running a stop sign at nearly three times the speed limit while drunk has earned an Opotiki man four years' jail.

Caleb Paikea, 20, killed his cousin, Mario Edwards, and seriously injured his partner, Ngawini Taingahue-Beale, in the May 23 crash.

He pleaded guilty in July to manslaughter and reckless wounding.

The High Court at Rotorua was told Paikea was playing "chicken run", which involved speeding through stop signs, when his car became airborne, hit a fence and smashed into a tree, the Daily Post said.

The car was illegally modified, and he had a blood alcohol reading of 132 milligrams of alcohol per litre of blood; the legal limit is 80.

Ms Ngawini Taingahue-Beale pleaded with Justice Peter Woodhouse to spare Paikea from jail for the sake of their 20-month-old son.

"I know in my heart Caleb never meant to hurt me. If I could turn back time, I would," she said during the hearing.

"I don't want our son to grow up without his father. I know Caleb is a good person.

"I know he regrets what has happened ... It was an accident, it could have happened to anybody. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Justice Woodhouse said Paikea was "showing off in a lethal way" when he crashed and sentenced him to four years' jail.

- NZPA