Cyclist Owen Young died in a crash near Wiri in April 2021. Photo / Supplied
Cyclist Owen Young died in a crash near Wiri in April 2021. Photo / Supplied
A prison guard who killed a cyclist when he crashed into him on a rural Auckland road has been sentenced to 200 hours of community work and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Owen Young, 70, was cycling the same route he took every Sunday from Auckland’s Herne Bay to Bombay and back when he was knocked off his bike near the intersection of Ararimu and Great South Rds in April 2021.
Young, an architect, hit his head when falling from his bike, was airlifted to hospital but subsequently died from his injuries.
Young’s son said in a victim impact statement provided earlier to the court that his father’s death had caused immense emotional stress and left a large hole in their lives.
The family will never be complete again and Young’s wife has lost her life partner and will not have the chance to share her retirement years with him, the statement read.
Young’s granddaughter, was very close to him and will grow up without her grandfather.
“We can only assume that this tragic event was a genuine accident and nothing we do or say can bring our father back,” Jeremy Young wrote on behalf of the family.
“We have empathy for the driver and understand that it will also have a lasting impact on his life. Our father was a kind and forgiving person, he would want the driver to reflect on the situation and the results of his actions, but also be able to move on with his life in peace.
The driver, who has interim name suppression, said he did not see Young until it was too late. After being charged with careless driving causing death, he accepted responsibility and was willing to attend a restorative justice meeting.
In an affidavit provided earlier to the court, the guard expressed sorrow for the pain that he had caused Young’s family.
He said that not a day has passed when he had not thought about Young and his family and the crash, and hoped that one day the family will forgive him.
At a hearing today in the Manukau District Court, Judge David McNaughton declined the prison guard’s bid for a discharge without conviction.
Judge McNaughton accepted the prison guard’s ongoing remorse, shame, and embarrassment, but said it did not justify discharge without conviction.
The guard’s employer did not provide a definitive response as to whether the conviction would result in him losing his job.
“In the end, I am not persuaded that it is a real and appreciable risk, firstly, because strictly speaking, this is not a criminal offence. It is a driving offence under the Land Transport Act 1998 and so this would not be a criminal conviction which would prevent you working as a prison officer for Corrections in terms of their requirements,” the judge said.
The judge sentenced him to 200 hours of community work and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
An emotional harm reparation order was also made for a $2000 lump sum payment to be made today.
Counties Manukau senior police prosecutor Paul Watkins said: “A difficult matter for all concerned. However, the police were obligated to oppose the application for a discharge. As it was my view that the proposed consequences of the conviction were not made out. The judge agreed.”
Cyclist Owen Young was killed in the crash in April 2021 at the intersection of Ararimu Rd and Great South Rd near Wiri. Image / Google Maps
Jeremy Young delivered a eulogy at his father’s funeral and told mourners: “Getting out on his bike for a Sunday morning ride was one of the highlights of Dad’s week for as long as I can remember.
“It was pretty much impossible to get him to miss that ride, he would do anything to rearrange Saturday night plans so that he could get an early night in preparation.
“His last conscious moments alive were spent doing something he loved.”
