The judge described her words as "the most telling and saddest observations" of the case.
On the afternoon of September 13, 2012 Eugene Glavish was driving his Suzuki on a rural road in Wainui about 50km north of Auckland.
His brother -- a father of four -- was in the passenger seat while a family friend of more than 20 years, Patricia Underwood, sat in the back.
When Eugene Glavish turned left off Weranui Rd on to Haruru Rd, he did not slow down enough and crossed the centre line into an oncoming Toyota ute driven by Michael Isherwood.
All involved in the crash were hospitalised apart from Daniel Glavish, who was removed from the wreckage and died in an ambulance at the scene shortly afterwards.
Eugene Glavish had life-threatening injuries and while being treated in hospital, police took a blood sample, which showed he was one-and-a half times the legal blood alcohol limit to drive.
He was in an induced coma during his brother's funeral and family faced the heart-wrenching task of telling him what had happened when he regained consciousness some days later.
Ms Underwood was also severely injured in the collision -- she suffered a brain bleed, a fractured neck, a broken arm and leg, and seven broken ribs.
She was in hospital for three weeks and spent time in a Pt Chevalier rehab centre, but attended a restorative justice conference with the offender and said she did not want him to be jailed.
Mr Isherwood did not attend the hearing and the court heard how losing his vehicle, combined with his fractured knee cap and other muscular injuries, had seen his business collapse.
In his victim impact statement, he spoke of seeing a "white arc of light" and thinking he was dead before seeing "metal flying everywhere". Then the pain kicked in.
Eugene Glavish, who is still undergoing surgeries for his ailments and is on a sickness benefit, was disqualified from driving for three-and-a-half years.
He was also ordered to pay a total of $8500 to the two surviving victims.
