A young disqualified motorist whose driving led to the death of a passenger, as well as a major power outage in Auckland’s North Shore, went on to illegally get behind the wheel three more times in the eight months he was on bail.
Amo Jr Ioane Papalii, 21, was driving at about 100km/h in a 50km/h residential zone after a night out with friends last November when 20-year-old passenger Iesha Heremaia asked him to slow down.
“Tragically, you did not,” Judge Paul Murray said last week as Papalii appeared in North Shore District Court for sentencing.
His Toyota Vanguard SUV instead sped up to an estimated 122km/h before it hit a power pole and flipped at a sharp bend along Lake Rd in Hauraki, between Devonport and Takapuna.
“You told police you were showing off, travelling too fast and therefore lost control,” the judge said, pointing out that cannabis and alcohol were detected in Papalii’s blood but he wasn’t found to be over the legal limit.
Police instead charged him with driving dangerously causing death, punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, and two counts of dangerous driving causing injury, which carries a five-year maximum.
Judge Murray allowed a sentence of home detention, noting the victim’s family had shown “incredible grace and charity” by telling the court they forgave Papalii and wished him well for the future.
But the decision came with some trepidation about whether the defendant would be able to follow the conditions.
“You should not have been driving – it seems that lesson has not been learned even after the tragic events,” the judge said.
A year before the crash, Papalii had been on a learner’s licence when he was convicted of drink-driving. His licence was suspended for six months but he never reinstated it.
That means the Clendon Park resident should not have been driving on the evening of November 1 last year when he picked up a friend in Manurewa, followed by both men’s girlfriends at their Takanini homes. Heremaia was dating Papalii’s friend.
“At about 11.30pm ... the group travelled to Auckland CBD, all consuming alcohol along the way,” court documents state.
During the course of the outing, Papalii got into an argument with his partner that appeared to last hours. He took the group to a Parnell petrol station around 4am, at which point his friend offered to drive after Papalii kicked over a rubbish bin and nearly drove off without the group.
The friend then drove them to Devonport, where he and Heremiaia went for a walk as Papalii and his girlfriend remained in the vehicle to talk. The group got back on the road, with Papalii again behind the wheel, around 5.45am.
During the drive, Heremaia unbuckled her seat belt to pass her boyfriend cash for McDonald’s, but court documents state Papalii drove through the restaurant drive-through without stopping. That’s when his driving started to concern his passengers.
“At this time and without warning the defendant suddenly accelerates,” police said in the agreed summary of facts for the case.
The crash occurred about 1km from where Heremaia had asked him to slow down. The vehicle came to a stop upside down against a concrete wall, with both women trapped inside.
Heremaia later died at Auckland Hospital after emergency responders extracted her from the wreckage. The other two passengers were treated for various injuries but released from hospital the same day.
Papalii was upfront with authorities from the start, admitting his driving was “reckless, fast and stupid”, documents state.
Defence lawyer Jerome Webby acknowledged during last week’s hearing his client’s behaviour since the crash – driving repeatedly while on bail despite a restriction – was inexplicable.
“It was immature and it was foolish,” he said. “He’s obviously not thinking clearly.”
But his client did not oppose going into custody after the final arrest and had learned a hard lesson during the recent weeks in jail, Webby said.
At age 21, it would be better for the defendant and better for society if he was allowed to address his underlying issues via a tightly-monitored home detention sentence that could include counselling and rehab, he argued.
Since the crash, Papalii has experienced nightmares and flashbacks and has said he feels guilty about experiencing life when Heremia cannot, the court was told.
“It’s something he will carry with him forever,” Webby said, describing his client as “fragile”.
Crown prosecutor Reina Va’ai noted that Papalii had already engaged in alcohol counselling before the fatal crash but went on to drink and drive anyway.
His case “sits on the cusp of home detention and imprisonment”, she said, adding that his bail breaches “undermine any confidence that the court can have in his ability to comply with a home detention sentence”.
But, acknowledging the expression of goodwill from Heremaia’s family, she did not ultimately oppose the defence proposal for home detention.
Judge Murray expressed his deepest sympathy for the family, who attended the hearing but did not wish to give a victim impact statement.
“It’s clear to me that Iesha was deeply loved,” he said.
“The loss suffered is immeasurable. Her family will never stop missing her.”
He described Papalii as a “clearly inexperienced driver”.
“You were showing off and your speed was grossly excessive,” he said. “You ignored a warning from one of your passengers. You were under the alcohol limit, but that still shows poor decision-making.”
He ordered 11 months’ home detention along with a three-year ban from driving and $2000 in emotional harm reparation to Heremaia’s family, which had already been voluntarily paid.
He left Papalii with a warning: there would be no room for leniency if he offended again while on home detention.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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