Fatal lapse led to motorcycle tragedy

File photo / NZ Herald

A momentary lapse by a respected 66-year-old Fordlands "koro" led to the death of a motorcyclist, a court has heard.

Ronald James Matheson was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court yesterday to four months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after pleading guilty earlier this year to careless driving causing the death of 38-year-old Jason McCauley on July 14, 2012. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

According to the police summary of facts, Matheson was driving north along Ngongotaha Rd about 5pm when he stopped in the centre of the road waiting to turn right. Mr McCauley, heading south on his motorbike, overtook another vehicle and accelerated under "hard acceleration". Having not seen him, Matheson turned. Mr McCauley braked and skidded for about 27 metres before hitting the left passenger side of Matheson's car. He was thrown 26m from his bike and died at the scene.

Matheson's lawyer, Annette Sykes, said her client was remorseful for his actions and his family was concerned he was becoming "reclusive".

He had suffered a heart attack since the accident and was also still suffering from injuries he sustained in the crash.

She said Matheson, a greenstone carver, had made one "momentary lapse".

"He is a good person ... in the Ford Block community they call him koro," she said. "A family lost a loved one but he can't regain his own mana in the community until this matter is resolved."

Ms Sykes said Matheson had taken part in restorative justice and wanted to create greenstone taonga for Mr McCauley's children.

"He wants to offer that as part of a tikanga process," she said. Ms Sykes said reports showed Mr McCauley was driving without a licence and had methamphetamine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. While Matheson had accepted responsibility for the crash, those were factors for the judge to take into account, Ms Sykes said.

Judge Ian Thomas said there were no winners in cases such as this.

"[It] will be on your conscience for the rest of your life," he told Matheson.

He said the level of carelessness shown by Matheson in "not keeping a proper look out and not seeing him [Mr McCauley] then turning in his path" was at the lower end of the scale.

Last August Mr McCauley's partner Susie Turner told the Rotorua Daily Post Mr McCauley, affectionately known as "Bull Frog", had been on his way home to Te Teko from a motorcycle ride around the Bay of Plenty with friends when the crash happened. She described him as a good dad to his three children from a previous relationship and someone who would jump to help friends and family at any time.