‘Moment’s inattention’ brought an athlete’s hopes crashing down

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A triathlete training towards world-qualifying times suffered significant setbacks after he was hit by a young motorist, Gisborne District Court heard.

Tenaya Hera-Maree Brown, 20, university student, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing injury and was ordered to come up for sentence if called upon and disqualified from driving for six months.

Counsel Leighvi Maynard told the court were it not for a police policy around these types of offences, Brown would have been an excellent candidate for diversion.

The accident occurred after a moment’s inattention. Brown immediately went to the cyclist’s aid. She had no previous convictions and had entered her guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. She had undertaken 40 hours voluntary work, and had paid the complainant nearly $3000 for damage she caused to his bike, helmet, and cell phone.

While the complainant was not keen to meet with Brown at a restorative justice meeting, he accepted that the remorse she expressed in a letter of apology was genuine, Mr Maynard said.

The court heard Brown collided with the cyclist after failing to see him at an intersection on Awapuni Road this February. He was flung on to the bonnet of her car before falling back on to the road. He suffered a fractured elbow that required surgery to pin.

His training had been significantly set back and he had lost money already spent on bookings for travel and accommodation to compete at events where he had hoped to achieve qualifying times for world events, including the Rio Olympics.