The van had become stuck in a pothole on a steep driveway, and Omidwar had stepped out of the vehicle to attempt to help the woman.
As she began to reverse, she lost control of the vehicle and it swerved down the driveway, crashing into the victim.
“My assessment of the offence is that it was a momentary lapse on behalf of the defendant, and it is a complete and utter tragedy for everyone involved,” O’Driscoll said.
O’Driscoll said cases like these were “some of the more difficult cases that judges have to deal with.”
Omidwar’s family sat in court, including his parents and sister Fatima, who had witnessed the accident. She read out a powerful victim statement.
“I am 20 years old and an Afghan student who came to New Zealand in search of safety and a better future.
“One week before my exam, this accident happened and I had to bury my brother instead.”
Fatima was in the van at the time of the accident and remembers Omidwar stepping out to help guide the driver of the stuck vehicle.
It was a gesture that would ultimately cost Omidwar his life, she said.
“I found him lying there, the driver pulled forward and he fell into my arms, crushed and broken.”
She described blood pouring from his mouth.
“It has forever changed my family’s life.”
The family had come to New Zealand to escape violence, she said.
“Saeed was at the centre of these dreams, he had just started his future in engineering.”
Her family was lost in grief and struggling to deal with the trauma, she said.
“This loss has put a strain on their relationship,” the sister said of her parents.
“His absence is a shadow we can not escape ... His life was taken senselessly.”
The sister turned around and demanded the defendant look at her.
“You knew you weren’t capable of driving a van, and yet you did and in the process, you killed my brother.
“That is what you call a murderer, that is what you are and what you will be for the rest of your life.”
Following the victim impact statement, the defendant’s lawyer noted they had tried to engage in restorative justice, but were rejected by the victim’s family.
The family later decided they would accept payment of reparation for emotional harm from the defendant, $4000 as ordered by Judge O’Driscoll.
Judge O‘Driscoll said the incident has had significant consequences for the Omidwar’s family.
“I am fully conscious, and appreciate that nothing I can say today can change what has occurred, and I’m sure everyone, with the benefit of hindsight, would have preferred the matter to happen differently.”
Judge O’Driscoll also said there would be significant consequences for the defendant if she was named, including for future travel, her career and mental health.
“There is an absence of aggravating factors,” the judge noted.
“The conclusion from the engineer included that the victim was not in the view of the driver, and it was unintended.”
O’Driscoll said the woman had no previous convictions, she was of previous good character, she had completed a defensive driving course following the incident and had offered reparations to the victim’s family.
“She has taken responsibility for what has occurred, by pleading guilty.”
A psychologist said the defendant had been displaying PTSD-related issues.
“I find, that in terms of the gravity of the offending, the offending is at the lowest end of the scale.
“A conviction would be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence.”
Police prosecutors did not oppose name suppression and did not oppose the defendant being discharged without conviction.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
