Teen driver ordered to help pay for victim's funeral

1.00pm

A Rotorua teenager who crashed a car while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, killing his 13-year-old passenger, is to receive counselling and has been disqualified from holding a driver's licence for a year.

The 15-year-old, who by law cannot be named because of his age, was too young to hold a licence at the time of the crash.

He appeared in Rotorua Youth Court in April and admitted causing the death of Lisa Whaanga near the Te Ngae junction last October. He was 14 at the time.

When he reappeared in court last week, Judge Brian Callaghan disqualified him from holding a driver's licence for 12 months and ordered him to reappear on November 30 so the recommendations of a family group conference could be carried out.

The recommendations include counselling for drug and alcohol abuse for six months, driver education and reparation to the victim's family.

The youth, who is employed, was ordered to pay $2700 toward the victim's headstone and contribute towards other funeral costs.

While the recommendations are being carried out, he will be supervised by Mana Social Services.

Neither the boy's family nor the victim's family wanted to comment on the case.

On October 18, the Rotorua youth and Miss Whaanga were at his home, near Rotorua, where a party was being held, the court was told. After drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis, the youth woke the girl, took a set of keys and drove to Rotorua to look for a relative.

Unable to find the relative, he drove back towards his house at about 5.40am.

It is believed he fell asleep near the intersection of State Highways 30 and 33 and drove off the road, hitting a fence and a tree.

Miss Whaanga, who was asleep on the back seat and not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown forward, hitting the windscreen. She suffered severe head and internal injuries and died at the scene.

Tests showed the driver had 76 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system -- more than twice the legal limit for a person under 20.

Medical staff also found traces of cannabis in his blood.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)