$10k payout over Oamaru footpath death

Emergency services at the scene after the accident in Oamaru. Photo / Daniel Birchfield

An 88-year-old Oamaru man has been disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to pay $10,000 to his victims after driving on to a footpath in Oamaru and killing a pedestrian and injuring three others.

Waikouaiti man Gerald James Cowley, 67, was killed in the January 2016 incident, in which William Arthur Lee drove on to the footpath at the corner of Eden and Thames St, hitting three pedestrians before continuing back on to Thames St, where his car was struck by two vehicles.

A 70-year-old woman suffered multiple injuries and was transported to Dunedin Hospital and a 13-year-old girl was treated for injuries at Oamaru Hospital.

All three drivers involved in the crash were also taken to Oamaru Hospital for treatment.

Lee was to face trial in Timaru District Court this week, but this morning changed his plea to guilty on all four charges he faced: one charge of operating a motor vehicle carelessly causing death, and three of careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury.

He was convicted and sentenced after the court heard emotional impact statements from the relatives of Cowley and from Lee's other victims.

Lee stood in the dock and watched each victim as they gave their statements.

Cowley's partner Midge Henderson said she lost one of the most loving and trustworthy people she knew from her life.

Her voice breaking, she said she was upset at how long it had taken Lee to plead guilty.

It had been very hard to deal with the shock of Cowley's death.

She recalled a police officer arriving at her home to tell her of Cowley's death and the horror of having to select a suitable photograph of him to help identify his body.

Lee had stolen the couple's right to exchange final words and the opportunity to reflect on life together, she said.

"My world as I knew it has been absolutely shattered."

At that point she broke down and a court staff member read the final part of her statement.

The court heard six victim impact statements, including from Cowley's daughter and sons and another victim from the incident.

Crown solicitor Andrew McRae said that before the crash on January 11, 2016, Lee had been having dizzy spells and had reported them to a GP in December 2015.

Lee's vehicle also did not have an active warrant of fitness.

Of the $10,000 reparation, the bulk would go to Henderson, the rest to the 70-year-old woman who was hit by Lee's car.