KEY POINTS:
Accepting responsibility for killing his best friend, immediately expressing remorse and apologising publicly saved a teenager from a lengthy jail term today.
In Christchurch District Court, Judge Lex de Jong noted the "genuine remorse" shown by Ian Campbell King, 18, a labourer, who had pleaded guilty at his first opportunity to charges of dangerous driving causing death, excess breath alcohol and assaulting police.
King lost control of his Subaru Legacy just after 10pm on August 4, killing his front seat passenger and "best mate" Alexander James Taylor.
The court was told earlier that King tried to make a turn from Main North Rd into Cranford St travelling about 90km/h.
He lost control of the car, which mounted a pedestrian island, continued over the centre island onto the other side of the road, skidded along the kerb for a short distance and hit a tree, before crashing into and felling a power pole 17m further down the road.
Ambulance officers were unable to revive Mr Taylor, who died at the crash site.
King smelt strongly of alcohol, his face was flushed, he had bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. He had an alcohol level of 876mcg per litre of breath - more than twice the 400mcg legal limit.
Taken to the Papanui police station to give an evidential blood test, King began to breathe heavily and snort, before spitting into the face of a police officer.
King told police he was "well drunk" and thought he was invincible.
In court today, lawyer Garry Collins said King readily admitted he'd been drinking and his driving was bad.
He accepted full responsibility for the death of his "best mate".
"Alex Taylor was a close friend and had been for some time," Mr Collins said.
He said King and Mr Taylor were part of a group of friends who had attended St Bede's College and a number of their friends and college staff were in court.
King, Mr Collins said, wanted to acknowledge publicly "how very sorry he is".
King had apologised to the Taylor family and acknowledged their "enormous loss".
"He's incredibly remorseful and that's reflected in his actions from the moment the accident occurred," Mr Collins said.
The police summary of facts noted King had apologised to police for his behaviour several times on the night of the crash.
Judge De Jong told King he'd got behind the wheel "knowing you'd had far too much to drink".
"Mercifully no one was on the pedestrian crossing and mercifully no one was driving on the other side of the road," he said.
"When you came to a stop, your friend was dead.
"What happened on the night of the 4th of August was every parent's worst nightmare."
However, the judge noted that King's early guilty plea indicated his willingness to accept responsibility for his actions and he accepted King was "genuinely remorseful".
"That is significant," he told King.
"You would be surprised to learn that many people standing where you are, are not.
"It probably goes without saying that you will carry the burden of Alex for the rest of your life," he said.
He told King it was important for him to remember his friend, but it was also "important that your life is not wasted".
King was jailed for nine months, given leave to apply for home detention, and disqualified from driving for 12 months on the dangerous driving charge.
He was sentenced to one month each on the excess breath alcohol and assault charges, concurrent with the nine-month sentence, and ordered to pay Orion New Zealand $9500 in reparations.
- NZPA
