KEY POINTS:
A woman left brain-injured after a head-on car smash is devastated the man responsible, an ex-police officer with previous drink-driving convictions, may be eligible for home detention when he is sentenced next month.
Mother-of-one Michelle Davies, 38, was left in a coma and has ongoing health problems after property developer Jason Peters, brother of Rich Lister Jamie Peters, crossed the centre line in the BMW he was driving and collided with a Jeep driven by Davies' husband, Greg, near Maramarua, Waikato, in May 2006.
Peters, who had excess alcohol in his blood, had been duck shooting with his brother Matthew as well as some friends.
Last year at an Auckland District Court hearing, the Crown alleged that Peters fled the scene after the crash, hiding in farmland where he was found by the police Eagle helicopter using heat-seeking equipment.
A witness said Peters' brother, who was also injured in the crash, regained consciousness and then told Peters to "get the f*** out of here before the cops get here".
Peters pleaded guilty to three charges of dangerous driving causing injury and driving drunk for a third time. Three other charges of driving with excess alcohol causing injury were dropped because they were considered to be double-ups.
In April, nearly two years after the accident, Peters wrote a letter of apology to Davies and, according to a letter from Crown Solicitor Simon Moore, was prepared to offer an amount of reparation to her.
Now the police and Crown lawyers have warned her Peters may get a year, or less, home detention rather than a prison term when he is sentenced on September 10. She is angry about that possibility.
Davies, who was left unconscious in the crumpled wreck with her 6-year-old daughter, Gemma, screaming in terror from her carseat in the back, said she felt betrayed by a justice system that had let her down.
The legal process had dragged on for more than two years, and it had been hard for her to put the trauma behind her. News that home detention was a possibility was "a kick in the teeth", she said.
In his letter to Davies, Peters apologised for not being in contact since the car accident saying "there are a number of reasons I haven't done so, the main reason being I didn't want to upset you and cause any further damage or distress you".
He went on to say: "I hope all of your recovery is full and complete and sincerely wish I could reverse what took place two years ago."
Davies said the change of plea and letter of apology was too little too late. The offer of reparation was "pathetic", given the significant loss of income for her husband's construction business while she was in hospital and undergoing rehabilitation, and the closure of her own interior design business.
As a victim she felt she had no rights, she said. Getting information from the Crown Law Office had been difficult until the letter from Moore was sent to her father last week.
In addition, Davies said she and her husband had spent thousands of dollars doing battle with the Accident Compensation Commission to get their costs covered and needs met.
"If New Zealand wasn't such a beautiful country, and we didn't have such great friends and family here, I would just feel like leaving."
Davies faces ongoing health problems including constant fatigue, hearing difficulties, memory and concentration problems, and trouble with balance. "Gemma has really suffered badly in terms of the things I can no longer do with her."
The accident had changed not only her life, but those of other family members who had also suffered stress and trauma.
Davies questioned why, under the circumstances, home detention was even an option. "Is it a lack of prison space? Does it come down to money? Is that all my life is worth?"
