KEY POINTS:
An Auckland High Court judge broke down yesterday as he read out victim impact statements at the sentencing of a man who drove his car into a crowd last year, killing two people.
Justice Hugh Williams was overcome with emotion and was forced to stop as he recounted how the deaths of Melissa Viall, 23 and Kane Wright, 19, had affected friends and family after a "few minutes of motoring mayhem".
Darin Gardner, 25, was found guilty by a jury in September on two counts of murder arising from an incident outside a 21st birthday party in the Auckland suburb of Pakuranga in October 2006.
Yesterday he was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 18 1/2 years.
The court was told Gardner twice drove at a group of people fighting early on October 8.
Miss Viall was killed instantly while going to aid Mr Wright, who had been knocked down by the car.
Mr Wright died in hospital the next day.
Gardner said he was trying to help friend and co-accused Anton Degraaff, who was being attacked and who he thought was going to be killed.
Gardner was also sentenced to 15 months as a party to injury and two years for injuring with intent.
Degraaff was found guilty of injuring with intent and yesterday was jailed for 2 1/2 years and 12 months for being a party to injury. All sentences are to be served concurrently.
Neither man showed any emotion as they were sentenced.
A strong police and security presence was evident in the court after ugly scenes erupted between the family and friends of the victims and the accused after the verdict.
Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said the families were still struggling to come to terms with their loss.
"A few minutes of disgraceful conduct has led to a tremendous amount of harm," said Mr Perkins.
A letter from Degraaff was read, saying how he had spent his teenage years "recklessly drinking" and describing how by the end of the trial he had felt ashamed of his actions.
Gardner's lawyer Gary Gotlieb, who broke down as he made his submissions, said many lives had been ruined but Gardner felt genuine remorse. Mr Gotlieb said the deaths of Miss Viall and Mr Wright were not "traditional murders".
Justice Williams struggled through some of the statements before finally breaking down when he reached the statement from Mr Wright's girlfriend Angela Lincoln.
Outside the court Miss Viall's father, Gary, fighting back tears, said the family would try to rebuild their lives. "It's given us a life sentence."
Mr Viall said his wife was finding it particularly difficult.
Sharon and Tony Wright said they missed everything about their son and were taking it one day at a time.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Lynch said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the murders.
He added that a car was every bit as lethal as a firearm.
- NZPA
