Jeremy Anthony Lee was sentenced today in the Dunedin District Court following a fatal crash that caused the death of Alan Weir. Photo / Ben Tomsett
A truck driver who caused a fiery crash near Waimate that killed a beloved husband and grandfather has been sentenced to three years and two months’ imprisonment.
On September 11 last year, a truck driven by Jeremy Anthony Lee, 43, veered across a centre line near Waimate and collided with a car driven by Alan George Weir, 65, killing him on impact.
He was later found to have nearly double the high-risk impairment level of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash.
At a prior appearance, Lee admitted charges of dangerous driving causing death and driving while impaired by a drug causing death.
Judge Hermann Retzlaff said considering the level of methamphetamine in Lee’s system, his level of culpability was “moderate to high”.
He cited aggravating features including “enormous” levels of harm to Weir’s family, the level of drugs in his system, and the manner of his driving leading up to the accident, and set a starting point of four years and nine months before applying discounts based on various factors.
Dangerous or drug-impaired driving causing death carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Counsel for the accused Brendon Stephenson said methamphetamine was something Lee had come across later in his life after several high-stress triggers, including separation from a partner.
Stephenson said Lee was actively looking for professional support in managing his addiction and mental health.
According to the police summary of facts, Lee had been working a night shift and was driving south from Christchurch on September 11, 2024, when he was seen swerving and crossing the centre line several times.
As he crossed Merrys Stream bridge, his truck veered into the opposite lane and collided with a car driven by Weir, who was on his way to work about 6am.
The impact lodged Weir’s car under the truck, and the trailer unit burst into flames.
Lee and another truck driver who stopped to help pulled the victim from his vehicle and attempted CPR, but Weir died at the scene.
Lee was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital, where a blood test later showed 90 nanograms of methamphetamine per millilitre of blood, nearly double the high-risk impairment level of 50ng.
Several members of Weir’s family were in the public dock, with many choosing to read impact statements.
Weir’s wife, Kerri, said she and Alan had been together for 40 years after she met him at the age of 19.
“Alan was my soulmate ... It’s been so hard not having that mate to go home to ... I miss him so much.”
“He was a very affectionate person, telling me he loved me ... I miss his cheeky grin, I miss him.”
She said she had given up her job since losing her partner, and sold the house they had lived in together due to having too many memories of Weir in the home.
“I tried hard, but I felt like I was on the verge of breaking down completely ... I couldn’t stand seeing couples my age, I was thinking that should be me and Alan. This should be our growing old together.
“We had so many plans, doing up our house and having our first trip away, and he was just so excited.”
She said she initially felt it was a tragic thing for Lee to go through and that she and her daughters felt empathy for him, but, upon discovering the details of the accident, they “felt stupid”.
“How many other lives could have been ended that day?
“Alan was a loving man, he was my soulmate, and you took that away from us.”
Weir’s daughters, Samantha, Dominique and Dannielle, each read statements.
Samantha said that no words could capture or grief or trauma following the loss of her father.
“Alan, Dad, granddad, husband, father-in-law, uncle, friend – you should still be here with us.”
Dominique said Weir wasn’t just her father, but her hero.
“My children will never get to know their granddad’s warmth, his laughter, or the way he could light up a room.
“The pain you’ve caused doesn’t end, it follows us every day ... We feel the weight of what you took from us.”
Dannielle said she could remember the day she saw on Facebook there had been a crash on the route her father had driven for the past 16 years.
After her mother called her to say her father had died, she said she broke down.
She said that night she sat her own children down to tell them that their grandfather was dead.
“There was so much pain.”
She said she had since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“After reading the post-mortem report, I know dad went instantly, but that still doesn’t stop the nightmares.
“I have triggers each day, something as small as feeling the sun on my skin, reminding me of the flames I feel in my nightmares.”
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.