A blood test showed he also had THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, in his system. Paparoa had used cannabis the day before meeting up with the three women - two sisters and their cousin - and going out with them to the beach.
The test recorded he had 93 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, which is nearly twice the legal limit for someone aged over 20. Paparoa was 20 at the time of the crash and his licence had been suspended a year earlier.
Paparoa pleaded guilty in the district court to a charge of causing death while in charge of a motor vehicle with an excess blood alcohol level. He also admitted a charge of reckless driving and three charges of causing injury while drink-driving.
He was sentenced to two years and four months in jail, but appealed against that sentence, arguing that it was “manifestly excessive” because the sentencing judge failed to give him adequate discounts for his remorse.
High Court Justice Graham Lang dismissed the appeal, saying another judge might have given a greater discount for Paparoa’s remorse but “this is not the test”. Rather, Paparoa had to prove that the sentence was excessive.
“Mr Paparoa’s offending involved a sustained period of reckless driving followed by a very poor piece of judgment that resulted in the vehicle leaving the road and colliding with a power pole,” Justice Lang said.
“It caused the death of one young person and the injury of three others.
“The culpability of the offending was aggravated by the fact that Mr Paparoa had been drinking alcohol for a considerable period of time before driving the vehicle, and he had also consumed nitrous oxide and cannabis.
“The effect of the offending has been catastrophic for the victims and their families,” Justice Lang said.
“The offending also occurred against a background of recent driving misconduct.
“When the gravity of the overall offending is taken into account, I do not consider the end sentence of two years’, four months’ imprisonment can realistically be said to be manifestly excessive.”
The judgment said neither of the two women in the back seat of the car was wearing a seat belt.
Paparoa was driving his vehicle in a “dangerous manner”, cutting corners and travelling onto the wrong side of the road, while one of the women filmed his driving on her cellphone.
At one point, he negotiated a blind corner at more than 100km/h on the wrong side of the road, and he drove at a similar speed in a 50km/h zone for about 500m.
He lost control when he failed to negotiate a slight right-hand bend and crossed the centre line. He slid along a roadside ditch and hit a concrete power pole.
Paparoa had received infringement notices and demerit points for speeding offences and poor driving in the 18 months before the crash. His licence had been suspended the previous year and never reinstated.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
