KEY POINTS:
Two young central North Island men are off to jail in time for Christmas after engaging in a high speed chase which killed a child pedestrian last New Year's Eve.
Judge Chris McGuire lashed out at the "all too common" over-confidence and aggressiveness of young male drivers when he sentenced Shane Dennis Perkins, 18, a Taupo labourer, and James Kevin Welson, 20, of Taihape, for reckless driving causing the death of 12-year-old Billy Wall near Taupo.
In Rotorua District Court, each got two years and nine months' imprisonment and disqualification from driving for five years.
"This was a case toward the higher end of recklessness," said the judge.
Before and after the death, each man had had repeated traffic infringements including speeding and driving beyond the limits of a restricted licence.
"What that tells me about you both is that, right from the commencement of the driver licensing process, you were not prepared to obey the law," Judge McGuire said.
Fines had been "an inadequate and ultimately empty sanction."
Throughout the two-hour sentencing Perkins and Welson -- strangers before their inexplicable outbreak of road rage toward each other nearly a year ago -- stood together in the dock, heads bowed. Looking chastened, the pair were flanked by prison guards, a third guard taking up position between the prisoners.
Behind the dock, one side of the public gallery was packed with their respective relatives and supporters while, on the other, a throng of the dead boy's whanau sat nursing their grief, a number of them weeping openly. Many of those gathered on both sides were young children and there was at least one newborn baby.
Court crier Fred Whata performed a karakia before official proceedings began.
The court heard how Perkins had been driving south on the evening of December 31 last year. Although he held a restricted licence, he had his unlicensed 17-year-old cousin and two girls aged 16 as passengers.
Welson's younger brother, 16, was with him and they were also heading out of Taupo.
Just past Rainbow Point, Perkins overtook in a way Welson believed was dangerous. A short distance on, Perkins signalled that he was turning right. Welson slowed down and passed on the left, noticing in his rear vision mirror that the other driver then abandoned his turn and followed.
That, said the judge, set in motion a chain of events that killed young Billy Wall.
There was some dispute in the accuseds' statements to police about who did what when. Perkins claimed the two in the second car had blue bandanas on their heads "like little gang members."
Welson said he had pulled his blue scarf over his head as he always did when driving because "it makes me feel cool."
With both drivers reportedly enraged by looks and hand gestures from the opposing vehicles, a chase began along State Highway 1 at speeds up to 160km/h. From Five Mile Bay to Waitahanui, they overtook traffic and forced oncoming vehicles to take evasive action.
At the small trout fishing village of Waitahanui 15km south of Taupo, Billy (known to his family as Mani) had been swimming and floating with his cousins down the Waitahanui River, using a black inner tube.
As Welson and Perkins sped through the village's 70km/h speed zone at an estimated 130km/h, Billy was halfway across the main highway on his way home.
Welson began to reduce speed and Perkins started to pass him, forcing vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to pull over to avoid a collision.
Seeing two cars bearing down on him side by side, Billy Wall tried to dash the rest of the way across the road.
Meanwhile Welson, trying to avoid contact with Perkins' vehicle on his right, hit Billy at the side of the highway.
"In that awful moment that young boy's life ended," said Judge McGuire. Had the two drivers been adhering to the speed limit, the youngster would have made it to safety.
Welson, who admitted a love affair with cars and with speed, stopped and ran back to the boy. But Billy had died instantly.
About 150 metres away, Perkins and his cousin -- who was waving a wheel brace -- were out of their car shouting abuse at Welson and his passengers. An argument started between the parties.
The court heard that the two offenders had since shown genuine remorse and acknowledged they had driven at "grossly excessive speeds, in a competitive, aggressive and dangerous manner."
Judge McGuire censured the "crude and thuggish aggression" of Perkins and his cousin and criticised Welson's acceptance of "that absurd challenge" to keep going instead of backing out of the chase.
He recommended that special release conditions be imposed on Perkins, requiring him to attend and complete six months of anger management, grief counselling and any other counselling a probation officer deemed necessary.
The judge also took up Perkins' offer to pay his savings of $1000 in reparation.
- NZPA
