KEY POINTS:
A man who killed his friend in a drunken high-speed road crash in Murupara has been jailed.
Henare Mihaka Hohepa Tanirau, 24, appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday for sentencing on one charge of dangerous driving causing death and another of dangerous driving causing injury.
Judge Chris McGuire sentenced him to three years' prison and ordered him to pay $2000 reparation. He was also disqualified for driving for four years.
Tanirau was the driver of a car involved in a crash in Murupara on April 29, in which Murupara man Daniel Thomas Waru, 19, was killed and another man was injured.
Tanirau was driving at speeds of at least 110km/h in a 50km/h area and had more than twice the legal alcohol limit.
He and his friends had been drinking from about midday to just before 10.45pm. The crash in Pine Dr happened shortly after that.
Mr Waru, who died instantly when the car hit a tree, left behind a 2-year-old son. He was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled several times.
Another passenger spent two-and-a-half weeks in hospital and needed surgery to have a titanium rod inserted in his leg.
Tanirau's lawyer Olivia Brittain said he was not a criminal and was unlikely to re- offend.
He was remorseful, the victims were his close friends and Tanirau was very aware of the harm he had caused their families, she said.
He was also struggling to deal with his own grief.
Appearing for the Crown, Taryn Bailey said Tanirau had failed to keep several appointments with Mana Social Services after pleading guilty and went to his first meeting just this week.
However, she said Mr Waru's family did not want to participate in restorative justice.
Ms Bailey said Tanirau was breath tested three hours after the crash and had a reading of 911 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit is 400.
Judge McGuire acknowledged Tanirau had no previous convictions and accepted he was also affected by the crash.
His mother had stated in a victim impact statement that Tanirau was no longer the cheerful, open person he was before the crash.
Judge McGuire recommended he undergo alcohol and motivational courses and grief counselling.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
