Hunter Ericsson is sentenced to 2 years 9 months in prison for dangerous driving causing the death of Joshua Heath
They were screaming for him to stop being an idiot and let the sober driver take the wheel.
But drunk and stoned Hunter Ericsson, 20, didn't trust anyone else with his ute - his "baby". He hit speeds of up to 180km/h before he lost control, crashed and killed apassenger, his friend.
Joshua Heath, 19, was flung from the rear seat and later died in Rotorua Hospital.
Joshua Heath was 19 when he was flung from a ute driven by a friend who was intoxicated. Photo / Supplied
His devastated family are in tatters but say the only glimmer of positivity is Joshua had wanted to be a donor and his organs have saved six lives.
"I guess it's nice to know his heart is still beating out there somewhere," his grieving mother, Nikki Heath, told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend.
Ericsson was yesterday sentenced to two years and nine months in jail after pleading guilty to recklessly causing Joshua's death and refusing to give a blood sample.
In the Rotorua District Court, Joshua's parents, Nikki and Spencer Heath, read their victim impact statement.
Spencer Heath said they now lived in fear of how easily one person can make a decision beyond their control and take everything they loved and cared about.
"You had no right to decide this future for Josh and for us. It makes us sick to our stomachs when we think about how much of life Josh is now missing out on."
Hunter Ericsson appears in the Rotorua District Court to be sentenced for reckless driving causing Joshua Heath's death. Photo / Andrew Warner
Ericsson was on a restricted driver's licence on October 2 last year when he met up with two young women who were close friends with Joshua at a Ngakuru car meet. Joshua knew Ericsson socially.
A police summary of facts said Ericsson and Joshua were drunk and Ericsson had also smoked cannabis. One of the women was to be the sober driver, but after her vehicle fell through, it was arranged she would use Ericsson's Toyota Hilux.
The foursome left Ericsson's home to get food in town. The sober woman reminded Ericsson she would drive his ute, but he got into the driver's seat and said he would reverse it out of the driveway.
But Ericsson didn't switch once out of the driveway. Instead, he headed into the city along Te Ngae Rd while those in the vehicle pleaded with him to stop. Ericsson's reply was: "Nah, we'll be right."
The Toyota Hilux driven by Hunter Ericsson that crashed on Te Ngae Rd, killing Joshua Heath. Photo / Supplied
The young women in the car made several attempts to make him pull over and stop driving but he wouldn't respond.
He eventually stopped in the carpark at McDonald's in the central city but wouldn't get out.
He rubbed the ute's interior, saying: "You're not driving, this is my baby, you might crash my ute, I have no insurance if you're driving."
Just before 11pm, he drove back along Te Ngae Rd. He overtook two vehicles, narrowly missing both.
Both women were terrified and screamed at him to stop. They noticed the speed was sitting about 180km/h.
They yelled at Ericsson: "Slow down, you're being an idiot. This is scary, stop!"
He lost control on a bend. The ute collided with a pole on the centre median, then with a traffic island at the entrance to Puarenga Park carpark.
Tributes to Joshua Heath are left at the scene of the crash on October 2 last year. Photo / Andrew Warner
The ute vaulted. Airborne, it hit a curb, a tree and a fence before landing on its side in the carpark. Unrestrained, Joshua was thrown from the ute. He was found about 12m away.
Police said Ericsson was aggressive and refused to give a blood sample. He later told police he was nine out 10 in intoxication level. He also admitted smoking cannabis.
Spencer Heath said in his victim impact statement that their son lived with them and they were a close family, with Joshua having an older brother, Ryan.
It was hard to walk past Joshua's room every day. They would find themselves looking in, hoping somehow he might be there.
Joshua worked for his father and was doing his building apprenticeship. He was saving to buy a section and build his dream home.
Tributes to Joshua Heath are left at the scene of the crash on October 2 last year. Photo / Andrew Warner
Spencer Heath said Ericsson couldn't be forgiven. He had taken away Ryan's brother and best friend and broken their mother's soul.
"She goes outside at night to look at the stars and talk to Josh, but mostly she cries," he said.
He asked how someone lived with themselves after killing another person, especially a supposed friend.
"The traumatic way Josh died will haunt us forever. We wonder if you, Hunter, valued your ute more than Josh's friendship."
They regretted allowing him into their home after Joshua had died, where he made what they felt were empty promises.
"We wish Josh had never met you. Josh meant the world to us and we hate you for taking his life."
Other emotional victim impact statements were read to the court by family members and friends standing before a photo of Joshua and a jar containing loved ones' notes about him.
Friends and family released balloons from Joshua Heath's house two months after his death when they gathered to mark his 20th birthday. Photo / Supplied
Many talked about his small stature but big heart.
Crown Solicitor Amanda Gordon suggested a starting point of four and a half to five years in prison and Ericsson's lawyer, Wiremu Te Are, did not disagree.
Judge Maree MacKenzie said the crash had a devastating impact and the victim impact statements were "harrowing".
She said Ericsson could be given credit for his early guilty plea and consideration was given for his age at the time.
Judge MacKenzie said there was a need to deter young men from getting behind the wheel when drunk and speeding.
Nikki Heath this week told the Daily Post a letter she received from Organ Donation New Zealand said Joshua's decision to be a donor had saved six lives.
His heart was transplanted to a young man of similar age and his lungs went to a middle-aged man. His liver was given to two recipients including a baby girl in Melbourne and a middle-aged woman. His pancreas and kidney went to a middle-aged man and his second kidney was given to a man of similar age.
"It's a tribute to the kind of person he was, giving right to the end."
