KEY POINTS:
A 70-year-old driver charged after a fatal crash on a notorious intersection of State Highway 50 near Napier will pay $3000 to the family of victims.
In sentencing the retired Napier man in the Napier District Court, Judge Tony Adeane said the consequences were out of all proportion to the momentary lapse which caused the tragedy.
Killed in the crash on October 6 last year was 37-year-old Tanae Alivale, the frontseat passenger of a northbound van.
A four-wheel-drive vehicle, driven by William Piripono Te Hiko, and the van collided head-on after Te Hiko failed to give way as his vehicle turned across through-traffic into Meeanee Road.
In the Napier District Court yesterday, Te Hiko was on crutches, still recovering from the leg fracture he received in the crash.
The crash was described as his one blemish in a lifetime of driving.
Also injured in the crash were Mr Alivale's brother, backseat passenger Lifa Alivale, 44, whose jaw was fractured in three places, and van driver Tui Aavae, 31, who suffered fractures to both bones in his lower right leg and also a fractured right elbow.
Judge Adeane appreciated Te Hiko's remorse, and the fact that, as a man of not great means, he was doing all he could to make some amends to the families of those in the van.
He said the court still had to balance the disproportionate consequences with the level of culpability.
For the offences of careless driving causing death and injury, which carried a maximum possible sentence of three months' jail, Te Hiko was sentenced to 100 hours' community work.
The judge also imposed a mandatory driving disqualification of 12 months, and said a programme of community work suitable to Te Hiko's condition could be worked out.
- NZPA
