‘It’s a tragedy’: Young man catches partner cheating, flees, runs red light, crashes

The 21-year-old was sentenced to community detention, intensive supervision, disqualified from driving and ordered to pay emotional harm reparation of $500. Photo / NZME

Driving off upset after discovering his girlfriend with someone else, Ohorangi Rawiri fled the house before driving straight through a red light.

So distracted by what he’d seen, he wasn’t thinking about anyone else as he drove along a Hamilton street about 10pm on February 15 last year and crashed into another vehicle.

Not only would Rawiri go on to suffer a serious brain injury but the driver of the other car would also suffer serious injuries.

The 21-year-old appeared in the Hamilton District Court today, supported by family, for his sentencing relating to three charges from that day; driving with excess blood alcohol causing injury, driving without an appropriate licence, and not having enough rest in a work day.

Rawiri suffered a serious brain injury and it wasn’t until September last year that he found out he had also injured somebody else.

That was something that had affected him, his lawyer Rosalind Brown told Judge Denise Clark.

“He is extremely remorseful and sorry for what happened on the night, particularly the ongoing matters for [the victim].”

Rawiri now had a traumatic brain injury that required ongoing rehabilitation, Brown said.

“There’s no getting away from it. This was an extremely tragic situation and something that was very avoidable which Ohorangi acknowledges.

“He did not go out in the frame of mind to hurt anybody... and that is something that he’s going to have to live with for the rest of his life, the decision that he made.”

Rawiri, of Morrinsville, had not appeared in court before and had a supportive family.

Brown urged the judge to not to impose a sentence of imprisonment or home detention.

Sergeant Stephen Leet asked whether the crash would have occurred if Rawiri was sticking to the rules of his learner’s licence which requires a supervising driver in the car after 10pm.

The court heard Rawiri breached those licence conditions multiple times since 2018 and Leet questioned whether the crash would have happened if Rawiri had already graduated to his restricted licence.

Judge Clark accepted Brown’s submission that a more serious sentence wasn’t warranted and that the crash which left the victim seriously injured had upset the defendent.

“I can say... that you are truly sorry for the decision you made back in February last year and you would do things differently if you could,” Judge Clark said.

“The important thing for you is to keep working with the people who are supporting you to be the best that you can be.

“I consider that you are truly remorseful for what happened. You understand the harm caused to [the victim] and you are not just sorry for yourself.”

After applying various discounts for Rawiri’s plea, the injury he’d suffered and an emotional harm payment, she came to an end term of four months of community detention, 12 months’ intensive supervision, 12 months’ driving disqualification, and ordered emotional harm reparation of $500.