Jail for killing mate in crash

Richard Emery was at the wheel when the car crashed off a railway overbridge. Photo / APN

A Te Puke teenager was sent to prison yesterday for three years and nine months for killing his close friend and injuring three others in a road smash.

Richard Emery, 19, was sentenced by Justice Mary Peters in the High Court at Rotorua after earlier admitting the manslaughter of Judas Witeri, a passenger in Emery's car when it crashed through a railway overbridge near Te Puke a year ago.

Emery was also jailed for a year on a charge of dangerous driving causing injury to Paoroa Rota and nine months on each of two further dangerous driving causing injury charges involving Jonah Ahomiro and Te Ahomiro Emery, to run concurrently with the manslaughter sentence.

Emery was also disqualified from driving for two years from the time of his release.

The judge said there were several factors in Emery's favour. These included his youth, that for the rest of his life he would have to carry the burden of killing someone he was close to and that he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

She also noted he was a devoted father to his 3-year-old daughter, a good worker and valued employee.

" Your genuine remorse is plainly heard and registers with me," Justice Peters told Emery.

She also noted that most if not all of the youths involved were his relatives.

The judge said Emery had been driving away from a party, possibly an after-ball, around 8am on July 27 last year.

Although he held a restricted licence, meaning he should not have been carrying passengers, six other people were in the car, none of whom was wearing a seatbelt.

After pulling onto the state highway near Te Puke, Emery reached speeds of 100km/h to 140km/h, using the median strip to pass other vehicles, narrowly missing two.

He lost control on a railway bridge and his car plunged 3m down a bank.

Judas Witeri died at the scene, one passenger was left with a paralysed arm, possibly permanently, another required stitches and others suffered minor injuries.

"To your credit you assisted at the scene," Justice Peters said. "It is a mystery to me how only Judas died."

Emery's blood-alcohol level was 2 times over the legal youth limit.

Defence counsel Tony Balme submitted that while alcohol was involved it was not a key factor.

"It was consumed early the previous evening. This is not a situation where he had been swigging out of cans and driving."

Despite the car having a warrant of fitness, it had defects that appeared to have contributed to the crash.

Tauranga Crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne said that although Emery's driving was very bad, it had been over only a relatively short distance.

"It appears it was a bit of reckless fun."

- NZPA