The first boy racer to collect three strikes for illegal driving had his car crushed this morning by Police Minister Anne Tolley at a Lower Hutt scrap metal yard.
A boy racer pleaded guilty to manslaughter after hitting a pregnant teen while doing illegal burnouts in front of a crowd.
The infant was born alive following an emergency Cesarean but died less than 24 hours later due to a head injury suffered in utero.
When asked to remove video of the incident, the defendant was initially defiant, describing himself as “the baddest skidder“ around.
Shortly after she was struck in the torso - sending her airborne - the 17-year-old victim had an emergency Cesarean at Middlemore Hospital. Her infant died less than 24 hours later due to the catastrophic head injury suffered in utero.
The driver took down the post after learning of the baby’s death but then posted another warning on a different social media account: “To the people that got hit on the weekend keep these indoors and sort it cause if the pigs come to mine for that I’ll come to yours and smoke you end of.”
The 24-year-old Aucklandresident, who has continued name suppression, had been scheduled to go to trial in the High Court at Auckland for manslaughter last week but he instead pleaded guilty to the charge.
Details of the tragic incident are now public for the first time after the agreed summary of facts for the case was released this week to the Herald and other media.
The defendant’s unregistered blue Holden Commodore could not have passed a warrant of fitness inspection and he was disqualified from driving due to previous traffic violations when he decided to participate in the illegal boy racer gathering at the intersection of Bruce Roderick and Offenhauser drives in East Tāmaki on the night of May 19, 2023.
Between 50 and 100 people had shown up - enough for the crowd to spill out on the road - after the gathering was advertised on social media.
Skid marks can still be seen on Google Maps at the intersection of Bruce Roderick and Offenhauser drives in East Tāmaki where an illegal boy racer gathering in May 2023 resulted in a pregnant teen getting hit and losing her baby. Photo / Google
As the defendant began doing burnouts in tandem with a red Holden Commodore, the 17-year-old was at the front of the crowd in the street.
“The defendant started drifting wider and closer to where the spectators were gathered,” court documents state. “The complainant tried to move backwards but was pushed forwards by the crowd behind her.
“At around 11.20pm, the blue Holden, driven by the defendant, struck the complainant’s partner on his right leg and then his sister on her right hip. This was a glancing type contact and neither sustained injury.
“The car then struck the complainant to the front of her torso, causing her to become airborne before landing heavily on her back, on the road.”
Those who were with the teen rushed her to the hospital while the defendant continued doing burnouts for a short while. He then left the area without having ever checked on the victims and inspected the damage to his car at a nearby petrol station.
The teen suffered a broken pelvis, a fractured knee and abrasions to her back.
Her child was born alive at 3.14am the following morning but required resuscitation and was intubated shortly thereafter. Neuroimaging revealed catastrophic, unsurvivable brain injury and the child died at 12.43am the following morning.
Not initially knowing about the tragedy that had unfolded at the hospital, the defendant posted footage of the burnout to Instagram.
“Not posting this for drama but when use are out to watch skids an [sic] drags stand the f*** back,” he wrote”, according to the agreed summary of facts. “My clipping points are not humans It’s the curb so stand back an don’t f***en stand on the road hate swinging my car an some idiots on the road people need to learn it’s a dangerous activity so stand the f*** back or get whacked.”
The victim’s sister contacted him via the social media platform and asked him to take it down. He was reluctant.
“Who’s this? Everyone knows the baddest skidder at drags is right here,” he responded. “Everyone knows stand back or get whacked. You can see everyone standing on the road in this video which needs to get out there to people that don’t know number one rule at drags is stand back sorry if it was your friend or whatever can you get them to message me.”
He later added: “I’ll give her a little cash so she knows not to stand there it wasn’t either of our faults but I’ll give back what’s good cause I’m not trying to run I’m just trying to put it out there cause it’s just fact.” In a further message, he asked if the victim was “all good”.
Three days after the incident, after learning of the baby’s death and after repeated messages with the teen’s sister, the defendant did delete the video - along with his entire Instagram account.
But he then followed it up with the post on another account threatening that if anyone spoke to police they would get “smoked”.
The defendant will face a sentence of up to life imprisonment for manslaughter when he is sentenced in July. He could also face up to five years' imprisonment, a $20,000 fine for dangerous driving causing injury and up to three months' imprisonment and a $4500 fine for driving while disqualified.
Police charged the defendant with manslaughter in November 2023, six months after the incident.
“While this case remains before the court, I would like to reiterate that illegal street racing causes great concern to police and our community – and for good reason," Detective Senior Sergeant Dean Batey said in a statement after the arrest.
“Time-and-time again, police have issued warnings to those taking part in this illegal activity about the risks they are posing to themselves and others. This also extends to the spectators who are enabling this behaviour.
“Let this tragedy ... be a reminder that the risks have very real consequences.”
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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