No penalty for young driver who ruined tourists' holiday

1.00pm

Two Czech tourists whose van was rammed from behind by a 16-year-old they say was speeding, are dismayed at a system that has let the boy walk away without paying reparation.

Iva Shejbalova, 25, and Jirka Lunka, 26, were driving in Blenheim when their van was smashed from behind.

The van was knocked on to its side and slid into a power pole.

The couple spent the night in Wairau Hospital with cuts and bruises. When they returned to the crash site the next day they found they had lost most of their belongings.

"We left everything on the road when we were taken to hospital. The next day we went to the crash to pick up the stuff but we weren't able to use anything. A lot was missing or broken, lots were covered in oil from the transformer box," Miss Shejbalova said.

The van was a write-off. After getting it towed away the couple were left standing on a sidewalk in Blenheim wondering what to do next.

Taken in by Dawn Miller, who lives near the site of the crash, the pair have been slowly getting back on their feet, working seven days a week to save for a new van.

However the couple, who were not insured, are angry the apprentice engineer who hit them has been able to walk away without paying for their loss.

Miss Shejbalova said with three passengers in the car, the boy was driving outside the conditions of his restricted licence so his insurance company refused to cover him.

"We contacted the boy and his parents and gave him some time to think about paying for the car and the damaged things. But they said they didn't want to pay us anything," she said.

She said despite the fact they believed the boy was speeding when he rammed into them, the boy, now 17, was being dealt with by the police youth aid section and would have to front up to a family group conference.

Miss Shejbalova said they had been warned about the dangers of driving in New Zealand before they arrived but they never expected what happened.

"We contacted the disputes tribunal but they said there was nothing they could do because he was too young... I am really surprised because he is old enough to drive but not old enough to be held responsible."

- NZPA