Aukaha managed to get herself out of the vehicle. She was treated at Tauranga Hospital for a serious arm injury and her blood was tested.
READ MORE:
• Serious crash turns fatal as person dies after Tauranga Eastern Link crash
• One person dead after crash in Matatā, Bay of Plenty
• One person dead, another critical after serious crash near Paengaroa
• Multiple injuries after crash involving truck near Te Puke
Aukaha, 49, was sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday after she earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with excess blood alcohol causing death.
The blood test revealed her blood alcohol level was 187 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood - more than three times the adult legal limit of 50 milligrams.
Sentencing Judge Paul Mabey QC revealed Shane King had drowned.
Jordan King, one of the deceased's sons, says he had "lost all respect" for Aukaha - someone he had once loved - after she had chosen to drive drunk and "killed his father".
Jordan's comments formed part of his victim impact statement which was read to the court by Crown prosecutor Oliver Salt.
"My dad was my best friend, my idol and he was an amazing human being. Generous caring and very loving ... He was someone I looked up to and wanted to grow up to be like one day. He was a great father."
Jordan said the pain, grief and feelings of loss never went away and he struggled daily knowing he would never hear his father's "cheeky voice" on the end of a phone again.
Shane King is also the father of Jeremy Marshall-King, 23, who plays in the NRL for the Canterbury Bulldogs and has represented New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup Nines.
Marshall-King, who is originally from Whakatane, is the half-brother of Kiwis legend Benji Marshall, who currently plays for the Wests Tigers rugby league team.
Salt sought a sentence starting point of three years' prison before discounts for personal mitigating factors and credit for Aukaha's guilty plea.
Salt said that was appropriate given Aukaha's high level of alcohol consumption and the fact she had driven on an expired learner's licence.
He said the Crown was neutral on the question of home detention.
Aukaha's lawyer Michael Heron argued the injuries his client had sustained, coupled with the trauma she suffered from losing her partner of 18 years, deserved some credit in terms of the sentence starting point.
Heron said his client was genuinely remorseful and her feelings of grief, pain and whakamā [shame] ran "very deep".
Aukuha also deserved significant credit for attending two restorative justice meetings with King's whanau and her rehabilitative efforts to address her alcohol issues, he said.
He argued a non-custodial sentence was the best outcome for Aukaha as sending her to prison was only likely to "jeopardise" her recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
Judge Mabey said he agreed with a comment made by Tony King, the deceased's older brother, in his victim impact statement.
"As Tony King says, there are no winners here," the judge said.
Judge Mabey said this victim also made it clear his brother would not have wanted Aukaha to be sent to prison, and the judge had taken that into account.
Judge Mabey said it came through loud and clear in letters of support that the couple had loved each other, and that only made Aukaha's offending even more tragic.
The judge said he was satisfied a jail term was not required and imposed a sentence of 10 months' home detention and nine months' post-detention conditions.
Judge Mabey also disqualified Aukaha from driving for two and a half years.
