Trial for teen driver accused of killing two sisters in Port Hills crash

Jason Alexander with his daughters Tayla (left), and Sunmara. Photo / Supplied

The trial for a teenage driver accused of killing two sisters when his car crashed on Christchurch's Port Hills begins tomorrow at the Christchurch District Court.

Levi Phillip Fiddymont has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, as well as dangerous driving causing injury and driving without the appropriate licence.

Tayla Alexander,17, died instantly when the car she was in went over a bank and burst into flames on Summit Rd about 11pm on November 27, 2019.

Her sister, Sunmara, suffered extensive burns and died a month later on her 16th birthday at Middlemore Hospital. The battle to save her had meant multiple amputations due to infections.

A teenage boy who was also a passenger suffered serious injuries and survived. Fiddymont had minor injuries.

The girls' father, Jason Alexander, says his life has been "wiped out". For the past two years, he has been consumed by grief and frustrated by lengthy court delays.

Alexander's last words to his only children were: "I love you and be good."

"I am feeling apprehensive but it is a relief this day has come. There are no winners or losers and it's not going to bring back Tayla or Sunmara. They were my two best mates and I want justice for them," Alexander said.

The driver's uncle, Paul Fiddymont, who raised him for three years, wants his nephew to know he is "there for him". Fiddymont previously told the Herald on Sunday "Levi was remorseful and deeply sorry for the accident".

"He is a lovely kid actually, very clever, sensitive and caring. But the blows he's had in life have left their mark."

Tayla was a "mother hen" to Sunmara - they were close in life and in death and are buried together at the cemetery in Ashburton. Alexander visits his daughters daily. Their half-brother, Dallas Thomson, is also a frequent visitor.

"Tayla always put others before herself and Sunmara was a fun-loving rebel," Alexander said.

"I want the driver to know it's not just my life he has ruined but so many others through his actions. My girls were such a big part of me and now I have an empty hole. I just want us to be together again. "