KEY POINTS:
A driver involved in an illegal Mt Maunganui street drag race that caused the death of a young man has been sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison.
Christopher James Copping, 17, of Tauranga, appeared for sentencing in the Tauranga High Court for his part in the death of 20-year-old Scott Finn, after a jury earlier found him guilty of the manslaughter.
Copping was not driving the car that actually struck and killed Mr Finn, who had been acting as a race starter, during a street drag race in Mt Maunganui in the early hours of May 19, 2007.
That car belonged to Jeffrey Luke, 20, who with Copping had been racing back towards the starting area at high speed, almost side by side at speeds of up to 130km/h.
But Copping received a longer sentence than Luke , who earlier admitted a manslaughter charge and was sentenced to 20 months in prison. He was recently released.
Justice Paul Heath said Copping was not less culpable than Luke and it was just a matter of pure luck as to which side of the road they were on.
Justice Heath said Copping never accepted responsibility for the death and did not show real remorse.
"I suspect that the reason you are feeling remorseful is that you feel sorry for the predicament in which you now find yourself," he said.
Copping was also disqualified from driving for four years.
- NZPA
