Kathy Sexton was known to a lot of people in her community and had worked as a manager at New World for almost 30 years. Photo / Supplied
Kathy Sexton was known to a lot of people in her community and had worked as a manager at New World for almost 30 years. Photo / Supplied
The family of a beloved grandmother is appalled the man responsible for her death after he drove drunk into her car wants to shorten his jail time.
Brian Ralph Lewis, 66, was three times over the legal alcohol limit when he drove into Kathy Sexton and her two young passengers on the West Coast on April 30 last year. Sexton died at the scene.
Lewis, who has 43 previous driving convictions including drink-driving, dangerous or careless driving, and driving while disqualified, was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment in March this year. He was also banned from driving for four years.
But on Tuesday, during a hearing in the High Court at Christchurch, Lewis’ lawyer said the sentence imposed was “manifestly excessive”, arguing an uplift of four months in prison should not have been added.
Kathy Sexton's daughter Emma Hand said he mother was her "best friend" and she feels lucky to have had such a special relationship with her.
A ‘slap in the face’
Sexton’s daughter Emma Hands, who sat in the back of the courtroom with her family and friends said she was “absolutely gutted” to hear Lewis was appealing his sentence.
“It’s been hard enough already and now he wants to do this to us and try to get away with it even more. We feel like we shouldn’t have to fight for justice in this case,” she told NZME.
Hands said the “slight relief” she felt when Lewis was locked up quickly vanished when she discovered the next day he was appealing his sentence.
“It’s really disheartening that he would even do this to us. I was just blown away because he got off lightly anyway.”
Hands said she didn’t think Lewis had any genuine remorse for what he’d done, stating he “dragged out the process for as long as he possibly could”, only offering to meet with Sexton’s family for restorative justice after many months.
Hands said her mother was her “best friend” and she felt lucky to have had such a special relationship with her, and continued to feel “extremely sad” without her.
The mother of one of the teenage passengers who will suffer “lifelong injuries” said Lewis’ appeal was a “slap in the face”.
“It’s hard for us that he’s appealing a matter of four months and we’re going to be dealing with a lifetime of trying to help [my son] navigate his way through life with things that have changed,” she told NZME.
The woman’s son suffered two broken arms that now require plates; a broken back, nerve damage in one of his arms, and a concussion, for which he needs to sleep every day after school.
She questioned how much remorse Lewis had, stating he wasn’t taking responsibility for his actions even after receiving a sentence she said was “certainly not enough”.
“He’s taken a life and changed two other lives in a way that they’ll never be the same again,” she said.
The appeal
On Tuesday Lewis’ lawyer Anselm Williams raised the issue of “unfairness” after four months was added to Lewis’ sentence when the judge heard an updated victim impact statement.
The court heard the victim impact statement of one of the young passengers was updated after it was discovered his injuries would have lifelong impacts.
Anselm said Lewis accepted a sentence indication with a starting point of three years and 10 months imprisonment but argued that while the offending caused “very, very serious harm”, the extra four months was “excessive” as Lewis wasn’t told this would be a possibility of the sentencing process.
He said his client “accepts responsibility” for the offending and accepted the end sentence would continue to be imprisonment.
“It wasn’t open to the judge to uplift the sentence by a further 10 per cent. It shouldn’t have been uplifted further by some information that didn’t move the goalpost,” Anselm said.
Crown prosecutor Ged Alloway said the starting point the judge took, even with the four-month uplift was within range for the offending and there was a requirement for victim impact statements to be “fresh” for sentencing.
Alloway said a “higher degree of harm” can be revealed through victim impact statements, submitting that as more family members came forward and showed harm, it could further aggravate the offending.
Justice Jonathon Eaton said the criminal law didn’t take into account the number of people affected by the death of someone to increase the sentence or see it as an aggravating factor.
He said it must have been apparent to the sentencing judge that Sexton was loved by many people and the outcome of the crash was traumatic for those involved but it was important the courts were consistent with sentencing.
Justice Eaton said Lewis had a “shocking driving record” and turned to Sexton’s family and friends, who filled the public gallery in court after announcing he would reserve his decision.
“I understand it’s difficult to listen to lawyers argue about this when a loved one has died,” he told them.
“I don’t want anyone to think this process has been demeaning or hasn’t taken into account the consequences.”
The crash
On April 30 last year near Stillwater, Sexton, her teenage grandson, and his friend were returning from Greymouth with takeaways at 6.20pm when Lewis went over a bridge on State Highway 7, lost control and crossed the centreline.
He went straight into the oncoming vehicle and caused a massive crash that launched both cars from the road.
Sexton died at the scene and her two young passengers were flown to Christchurch Hospital with critical injuries.
Lewis had a blood-alcohol count of 183ml — more than three times the legal limit.
He was later charged with driving with excess blood alcohol and causing death, plus two charges of driving above the limit and causing injury.
Lewis was critically injured in the crash and was in a wheelchair during his sentencing wearing an oxygen tube.
Sexton, who lived in Ngahere near Greymouth, was a manager at the local New World for 28 years.
“[She was] just a real friendly face in the community. The customers, some of them would just stop and chat to her,” her son Damian Hands earlier told the Herald, paying tribute to a “beautiful mum”.
