Wife forgives driver who admitted killing her husband: 'She has suffered enough'

Police and ambulance staff at the scene where a man was killed after being hit by a car on Vale St. Photo/file

The wife of a man who died after being hit by a car while walking on a Bureta pedestrian crossing has forgiven the woman who admitted causing his death.

Joyce Margaret Avery, 75, appeared in Tauranga District Court yesterday afternoon facing a charge of careless driving causing death or injury.

Community Magistrate Sherida Cooper granted Avery's application for a discharge without conviction and disqualified her from driving for six months.

Avery earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving causing the death of Cyril Jaggard whose family was not present in court yesterday.

Cooper said Mrs Jaggard had written "generously" in her submission that she had forgiven Avery and said she had suffered enough.

"Even though the Jaggard family are not here today, I would like to acknowledge the family for their spirit of forgiveness."

Cooper acknowledged Avery's early guilty plea, as well as several character references reading Avery was "a good person" who had shown remorse.

She also acknowledged Avery had visited the victim's wife and attended restorative justice meetings. The court heard Avery had also made a donation to Victim Support.

Cooper said Avery had been looking at a bus nearing an intersection to her left and she was worried it was not going to stop.

She acknowledged Avery was looking in her rear-view mirror at a car travelling too close behind her and that there was a glare on her windscreen "but not much".

Avery had also been driving for over 40 years and had a clean record. Cooper said she was satisfied jail was not appropriate.

Avery's lawyer Matthew Bates had earlier applied for a discharge without conviction because Avery had children in England and Canada and a conviction would affect her ability to travel.

Avery had sold her vehicle and did not feel confident about getting behind the wheel of a car again, he said.

Bates said his client had not been able to sleep well since the incident. "She thinks about this every day," he said. "She suffers from headaches and gets teary very easily."

Bates said Avery had entered an early guilty plea and referred to his client's words, "I am so sorry, it was my fault, it was my fault" at the scene.

His client had offered many apologies and had said she would do whatever she could do to try and make some form of amends with the victim's family.

"Obviously there is little you can do to put things back to what they were before the incident in March but she has accepted she was entirely culpable for what occurred," he said.

Bates said there was a "token gesture" of payment to the family which had been made and she had written and verbally apologised to the family.

He also said Avery had not been able to get her life back in order since the incident.

"I am not asking anyone to feel sorry for her," he said.