Kenneth McCaul died in the Christchurch crash on October 22. Photo / File
Kenneth McCaul died in the Christchurch crash on October 22. Photo / File
A teenage driver who admitted killing an innocent motorist after a police chase allegedly filmed by a passenger has today been jailed for nearly three years.
Jayden Richard Breakwell, 18, admitted manslaughter and reckless driving after the horror smash at the intersection of Idris Rd and Glandovey Rd shortly after 4am on October 22 that killed Kenneth Patrick Gerard McCaul, 64.
Four passengers, all in their teens, were taken to hospital with what police described at the time as "moderate injuries".
At the High Court this afternoon as he was jailed for two years and eight months, Breakwell tearfully read out a letter to the victim's family - saying how sorry he was someone had died because of his actions.
Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger said Breakwell is the only person in the car who owned his actions.
She says there is video evidence on a cellphone of what happened that night - but none of the teens will claim ownership of the phone or unlock it for police.
Breakwell admitted breaching his learner licence conditions by consuming alcohol, carrying passengers, and driving after 10pm. He also estimated that he reached speeds of up to 110km/h through the city streets to escape police, and that he estimated he was doing 100km/h at the time of the crash.
He later told police that his friends were encouraging him to flee from the police, while further claiming a front-seat passenger was recording the chase on his cellphone.
Kenneth McCaul, who died in the October 22 crash, had been driving to work early to secure a car park before starting his shift at Christchurch Hospital. Photo / File
That night, Breakwell had been driving four of his young friends around the streets of Christchurch in a Toyota Caldina.
At around 3.58am, a marked police patrol car spotted him, did a U-turn, and parked on the opposite side of the road facing the teen.
When the youngster drove past, the police officer did another U-turn and followed him along Papanui Rd.
As they approached the intersection of Langdons Rd, the police officer activated his red and blue lights for the teen driver to pull over.
However, the teen accelerated away, soon reaching speeds of 90km/h in the 50km/h zone.
Going into the city, he drove through a red light and past the casino. He continued speeding through town before a second marked patrol car joined the pursuit.
As he drove down Glandovey Rd, he went through a red light at the Idris Rd intersection and T-boned a Hyundai saloon driven by McCaul.
McCaul was driving to work early to secure a car park and had planned to sleep in his car before starting his shift at Christchurch Hospital.
The front of the teen's Toyota hit McCaul's car in the passenger side between the front and back wheels, shunting it across the road and into a stone wall. It bounced off the wall and came to rest on the edge of the footpath.
The badly damaged teen's car came to rest about 30m up the road.
