Jason Tuitama in the dock at the Wellington High Court where he pleaded guilty to Casidhe Maguire's (inset) manslaughter.
The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked the police, “Did I kill someone?”
Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red light in his BMW, striking them as they were on a pedestrian crossing in the early hours of June 18 last year.
Both were taken to hospital, one in a serious condition and one critical.
Casidhe Maguire, known as Cass, died in hospital several weeks later. The other pedestrian suffered serious injuries, requiring several operations.
Court documents show Tuitama had already been banned from driving multiple times in the months before the fatal incident and wasn’t supposed to be driving.
While the impact threw both women in the air, Tuitama refused to stop, driving off while his victims lay critically injured on Cable Street.
Today before a packed public gallery in the High Court at Wellington, Tuitama was jailed for four years and four months after earlier admitting charges of manslaughter, reckless driving causing injury, failing to stop and drink driving.
Sentencing Justice Andru Isac told Tuitama his driving that night was some of the worst imaginable.
Crown prosecutor Rushika De Silva sought a sentence of eight years imprisonment, citing eight aggravating factors including the level of Tuitama’s intoxification, his pattern of bad driving, speed and failure to stop and the impact his offending had on his victims.
Tuitama’s lawyer Lucie Scott suggested a starting point of 6.5 years imprisonment was more appropriate, saying her client did not shy away from his reckless and impulsive driving that night.
Justice Isac commenced sentencing with a starting point of eight years.
He arrived at a sentence of four years and four months, after calculating a 45 per cent discount, taking into account Tuitama’s guilty plea, his young age and the steps he’d taken in rehabilitation.
According to the summary of facts, Tuitama’s Saturday night started at the Johnsonville Rugby Club celebrating his “blazer game”.
Just after midnight he drove to Wellington, first on the motorway and then along an area known as ‘the Quay’s’ which runs adjacent to the capital’s waterfront.
The summary showed as Tuitama headed towards town he reached speeds of up to 150km/h. He slowed while passing a speed camera on the motorway and again while passing an alcohol checkpoint police on the other side of the road, when he’d left the motorway.
Clear of the checkpoint, he sped up and drove down the main arterial route reaching speeds of up to 115km/ph.
His partner, who was in the passenger seat, was begging him to slow down and stop, even gripping his leg. Despite this he drove at speed, running two sets of red lights.
At traffic lights at the intersection of Cable St and Taranaki St Wharf, he narrowly missed a car coming through a green light.
He didn’t brake as he ploughed through the intersection at 85km/h, before hitting the women, who were crossing on a green light.
When he was found on Evans Bay Parade, a police car had to manoeuvre in front of his BMW to get him to stop.
Upon being arrested, Tuitama told police: “I know I shouldn’t have driven; I’ve drunk too much” and asked: “Did I kill someone?”
“I’ll accept the punishment, I know I did wrong.”
A breath test showed he had 993mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, nearly four times the legal limit of 250mcg.
He was not wearing contact lenses that were required as part of his licence.
He told police he was too drunk and couldn’t see properly. He didn’t know why he didn’t stop.
Maguire died about three weeks later in Wellington Hospital. An online funeral notice said she died surrounded by loved ones.
“Cass was loved and will be dearly missed by her family,” it said.
The 28-year-old mother had previously worked as a senior project co-ordinator at the Ministry of Health.
Tributes left for her described her as a “gem of a lady” with “a good and kind heart and soul”.
In a message to Maguire’s young child, one friend said “your mum was beautiful, caring, funny and touched many lives”.
“Our prayers go out to her amazing partner, beautiful baby boy and all her family and friends,” another said.
Tuitama was also ordered to pay a $15,000 emotional harm payment to her family and disqualified from driving for four years once he’s released from prison.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media advisor at the Ministry of Justice.
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