Extreme weather hits the South Island, data shows decrease in retail spending and Land Search and Rescue asks for help. Video / NZ Herald / George Heard
Minutes after driver Daniel Rikiti admitted killing pedestrian Richard Martin on a Rotorua CBD street, he came face-to-face with the victim’s two sons.
It was the first time in the two years since their dad’s death they had the chance to get answers about what happened that night.
Rikiti appeared in the Rotorua District Court on Monday for what was meant to be a judge-alone trial after pleading not guilty to reckless driving causing Martin’s 2022 death.
Instead, the Crown reduced the charge to dangerous driving causing death.
Daniel Rikiti has admitted a charge of dangerous driving causing Richard Martin's death. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Sam Martin and Richard Martin Jnr, Richard Martin’s sons, told the Rotorua Daily Post it was good to hear what happened from Rikiti’s point of view and get some long-awaited answers.
Richie Martin died after being hit by a car in central Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Sam Martin said he was keen to have restorative justice with Rikiti and wanted to help get him back on a path of being a good citizen.
“My appetite is not to keep him in the system … He gets victimised, and his kids get affected and so do the generations that come.”
Richard Martin Jnr told the Rotorua Daily Post he had never been to a court hearing before and did not expect to see Rikiti, let alone talk to him afterwards.
However, he said it helped give him closure.
“It closed a bit of two years of unanswered questions.”
Martin’s fiance Tanya Anderson, who was walking with him on the night he was killed, told the Rotorua Daily Post on Thursday that waiting two years to get a last-minute guilty plea to a reduced charge on the day of trial brought mixed emotions.
Tanya Anderson embraces a photo of her soulmate Richie Martin, who was killed after being hit by a car while crossing the road. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said while Rikiti had been referred for restorative justice, she was not yet sure whether she would take part.
”I’m still trying to get my head around what all this means. Discounts for the offender? Richie’s life can’t be restored. Living that nightmare of seeing my love being hit and the lasting traumatic effects can’t be forgotten. The emotions are still raw.
A police summary of facts released to the Rotorua Daily Post said Rikiti was driving a car that had earlier been ordered off the road and had been part of a domestic violence police callout hours before he hit Martin on Arawa St.
About 10.20pm on September 16, 2022, police attended a family harm incident between Rikiti and his partner. His partner had used a golf club to smash the windscreen, the summary said.
Police served a three-day safety order on Rikiti, which meant he was not allowed to have any contact with his partner.
Just after 2am, Rikiti drove west on Arawa St. He is a restricted licence holder and was driving outside the hours he was allowed.
The summary said Arawa St was well-lit and dry with minimal traffic.
Martin and his partner were walking east on the southern side of Arawa St.
The summary said she was about 8-10m in front of him as she crossed Arawa St.
Martin stepped from the footpath on to the road, crossing the fog line. He looked toward Rikiti’s vehicle as it approached, not slowing down.
The summary said Martin paused in the lane and raised his hands. Rikiti’s headlights illuminated Martin on the road but Rikiti did not slow or make any attempt to avoid him.
The impact threw Martin about 15m. Rikiti initially drove west before returning to the scene.
A subsequent breath alcohol test showed he was under the limit to drive.
Daniel Rikiti at an earlier Rotorua District Court appearance in October last year. Photo / Andrew Warner
Martin suffered multiple serious injuries including to his head and spine.
He was flown to Waikato Hospital and on to Middlemore Hospital in a coma and on life support. Six days later, life support was deemed ineffective and Martin died.
When police spoke to Rikiti, he said: “I was looking for my partner, I just didn’t see him”.
In court on Monday, Rikiti’s lawyer, Tim Braithwaite, asked Judge John Bergseng to remand his client on continued bail until sentencing.
He said he had hoped to get an electronically-monitored sentence and Rikiti was the sole carer of his baby as the baby’s mother was in custody.
Judge Bergseng remanded Rikiti on bail until sentencing on March 7.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
