No jail for fatal crash driver

Photo / File

A young Whangarei woman has the family of a man whose death she caused to thank for her liberty after they pleaded with a court not to send her to jail.

Jessica Hoani, 22, chose to drive despite having almost twice the legal amount of alcohol in her blood in the early hours of Christmas Day last year after drinking heavily during a 21st birthday party in the Far North.

About 2.30am, she lost control of her vehicle while taking a moderate uphill bend on State Highway 1 near Kaitaia, hit loose gravel, skidded across both lanes, hit a band before the car rolled a number of times. She was severely injured and her front-seat passenger, Sandy Waenga Brown, died at the scene.

Both were not wearing seat belts and were thrown out of the car at impact.

Hoani's sister, who was in the back seat, pulled herself out and walked about a kilometre to get help.

A blood sample revealed Hoani had 146 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Hoani was sentenced by the Whangarei District Court on Friday to 12 months home detention and 250 hours community work. She was ordered by Judge Duncan Harvey to pay $1000 emotional harm reparation to Mr Brown's family.

Hoani was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for 18 months.

Judge Harvey said both whanau didn't want to see Hoani going to jail. He said there was a general feeling of forgiveness but an acceptance that punishment must flow from the crime.

Although the views of both whanau didn't take precedence over law, he said it was important that they were given appropriate recognition by the court.

In his sentence indication hearing in August, Judge Harvey highlighted the scourge of drink-driving in Northland which he said has attracted sufficient media attention over the years.

"If ever there was an example of the dangers of drinking and driving, this is it," the judge said.

"A defendant (Hoani) with an otherwise unblemished record, a person who I accept from the references that I have seen is a very fine young lady made a terrible and drastic mistake," he said.

Defence lawyer Arthur Fairley said Hoani herself suffering serious injuries was a mitigating factor but Judge Harvey said that was simply a consequence of her own actions.

Hoani was ordered not to possess or consume alcohol and drugs for the duration of her home detention sentence. Judge Harvey expressed the court's sympathy and thanked both whanau for the way they approached the case.