An 18-year-old man who caused the death of a Hastings boxer in an accident has been convicted of careless driving just three months after he was disqualified from driving for one year.
On July 1, Reif Cotter was sentenced in the Napier District Court on charges of careless driving causing the death of 12-year-old Mitchell Te Ngahue as well as careless driving causing injury relating to Mitchell's cousin.
He received 200 hours community work and supervision for one year. He was also disqualified from driving for one year.
Yesterday in the Napier District Court, Cotter pleaded guilty to charges of drink-driving, careless driving and driving while disqualified.
At 7.15pm on October 17, Cotter pulled out of a driveway to turn right on to Main North Rd in Bay View.
His view of the traffic was obscured by parked vehicles but he drove on to the road and into the path of another vehicle causing a collision. He was breath-tested and found with a level of 225mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit for people under 20 is 150mcg.
No reparation was sought for damage to the vehicle.
Judge Bridget Mackintosh sentenced Cotter to 80 hours of community work, cumulative on his other sentence, and disqualified him from driving for eight months. The disqualification begins on July 1 next year.
The earlier conviction for careless driving causing the death of Mitchell related to an incident on October 12 last year.
Mitchell was at a Hastings address taking his cousins for rides up and down a driveway on a 125cc motorbike.
While he was riding back up the driveway with his 10-year-old female cousin, Cotter was accelerating down the driveway, his motorbike fishtailing.
Cotter rounded a blind right-hand bend on the drive crossing to the right-hand side of the road. He collided with Mitchell, who died the following day from injuries.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.