Julia Rose Florence died in a farm accident on December 14. Photo / Supplied
Julia Rose Florence died in a farm accident on December 14. Photo / Supplied
Enveloped by tall-growing grass and under the falling rain, a shattered man held the hand of his childhood friend as she died in a paddock.
Tragically, it was he that had unintentionally killed Julia Rose Florence after attempting to perform doughnuts in a farm vehicle which then tipped and crushed her.
But now the parents of Julia have begged a court to take mercy on Tom Munro Nicholls, the 22-year-old responsible for the death of their 21-year-old daughter.
Rosie Florence told Hāwera District Court on Monday that Nicholls had the “love and forgiveness” of her family.
“We know that because Tom loves us, and he loved Julia, he lives his sentence every day,” she said.
“Therefore, we the Florence family request clemency in this case.”
The sentencing hearing of Nicholls, charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing injury, centered on the December 14 farm crash in Cardiff, Taranaki, last year.
At the hearing, the court was told the victims worked with Nicholls on a shearing gang and that his and Julia’s families were close friends.
On the day of the crash, it was raining heavily and so the crew finished work around 2pm.
Plans were made to meet at a colleague’s house for drinks and on the way there Nicholls bought two dozen beer and vodka premixes.
Around 8.30pm, the group decided to go for a drive around the farm.
Tom Munro Nicholls caused the crash which killed Julia Rose Florence. Photo / Tara Shaskey
Nicholls got behind the wheel of the Polaris Ranger and Julia, the other victim and another woman climbed in as passengers.
Two other men shared a quad bike and drove ahead of Nicholls and the women with a plan to give them a tour of the farm.
But shortly after, Nicholls began driving in circles in an attempt to perform a doughnut.
The surviving victim said everyone in the farm vehicle was laughing.
But as the circles continued, the vehicle lost traction and started to skid on the wet grass. Nicholls lost control, she said, and it tipped on its side.
The other passenger’s recollection differed, with her telling police that following the attempted doughnuts, Nicholls drove up a hill and then back down before turning sharply, which caused the vehicle to tip.
Ultimately, Julia was crushed underneath it and the teen was trapped.
After working to free the women, CPR efforts began on Julia and emergency services were called.
But by the time paramedics arrived, she had died from a head injury. Nicholls was found sitting with her, upset and holding her hand.
When police arrived, an officer noticed he had slurred speech and smelt of alcohol. But Nicholls declined to undergo an alcohol breath test and said he had consumed four to six beers.
He said he had not been driving fast and the vehicle had flipped as he attempted a turn. Nicholls also said he tried to do a skid but couldn’t, so he watched the others perform them in the paddock.
But that was at odds with police findings, which said there was no evidence the quad bike had been used for skids.
A police serious crash unit examined the scene and found evidence of circular tracks left by Nicholls.
The Polaris Ranger involved in the crash. Photo / Supplied
In Rosie’s victim impact statement, she told the court her daughter was a volunteer firefighter whose life was full of “love, blessings, adventure and service”.
“She leaves a big hole in our family. This space is palpable, like a vacuum.”
Rosie said Nicholls had taken full responsibility for Julia’s death from the beginning and that he wore it with “shame, anguish and quiet dignity”.
The irony, Rosie said, was that Nicholls spent his time at university with Julia, protecting her from all real and imaginary threats - “like a brother”.
“Only to be responsible for her death. This is something that he will live with forever.”
Defence lawyer Kylie Pascoe made an application to have Nicholls discharged without conviction on the two admitted charges.
She said it was not made lightly and with the full support of Julia’s family.
Pascoe submitted the dangerous driving was not “persistent and deliberate”, as described by the Crown, and instead it occurred over a very short period of time.
She added it took place in a paddock and not on a road, reducing Nicholls’ level of culpability.
The offending was low to midrange while the mitigating factors were significant, she argued.
Included in those, were Nicholls’ youth, his previously unblemished driving record and lack of criminal offending, as well as his high level of remorse.
Tom Munro Nicholls appeared in Hāwera District Court on Monday. Photo / File
A conviction would impact his ambition to join the New Zealand Defence Force, and employment generally, Pascoe submitted.
But crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich said there were always consequences when a conviction was entered against young offenders.
And in this case, the consequences of a conviction did not outweigh the gravity of the offending, he argued in opposition to defence’s application.
Marinovich maintained the driving was deliberate and persistent and pointed to the findings of the serious crash unit to support his submissions.
He said the passengers were unrestrained and vulnerable to Nicholls’ decisions, which were “no doubt” impacted by his alcohol consumption in the lead-up to the crash.
The vehicle had listed on it a number of safety warnings, including not to perform doughnuts, but all were ignored.
“Their safety was his responsibility,” Marinovich said.
After considering the submissions, Judge Gregory Hikaka agreed with the Crown in that it was high-level offending.
While Nicholls’ remorse - and other mitigating factors - were accepted by the judge, he said he needed to consider the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence.
“Particularly of others, not of you because you’re not going to go down this track again, I’m confident of that,” he said.
“But there needs to be a mark to say ‘this is not good enough’.”
Following that, Judge Hikaka declined the application to discharge Nicholls without conviction and sentenced him to three months of community detention and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
