Judge shows mercy at sentencing for low-speed death of elderly pedestrian in Raumati Beach

Peter John Porch appeared for sentencing in the Porirua Distruct Court today.

Eric Pickering was on his way to the bakery to buy bread for breakfast when he was fatally hit by a car at low-speed earlier this year.

The fit 91-year-old walked to the bakery every morning, but this time would be his last.

Pickering was knocked to the ground and run over by a car that was going less than 10km/h on March 30. He died at the scene.

Peter John Porch, 39, was turning in a wide arc on the road when he hit Pickering.

"Mr Porch was on his way to work in Raumati Beach," his lawyer, Peter Foster, said in the Porirua District Court this afternoon.

"The defendant moved into the driveway of the property that he was working at. He saw a car there, went left instead in a big, wide arc. On his left was Mr Pickering."

Judge James Johnston said Pickering's leg was caught by the front left tyre of the car, knocking him to the ground.

"You drove directly over Mr Pickering before coming to a stop," he said during Porch's sentencing today.

"An innocent life lost and a resulting shattered family."

A report from the Serious Crash Unit said Porch would only have been driving between 9.2-9.3km/h when he hit Pickering.

CPR was carried out on Pickering, but he could not be revived and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Porch pleaded guilty "at the very, very earliest opportunity" to careless driving causing death, Foster said.

Porch has a previous careless driving causing injury conviction from several years ago.

"These cases are the sort of sentencings where a good person like Mr Porch has a momentary lapse of judgement and a good man dies," Foster said.

"The effect on everybody is profound."

Foster said there was a Restorative Justice meeting between Porch and Pickering's family, and a report of the meeting displayed emotion, sadness, remorse, and forgiveness.

"His remorse just shines through in every aspect of this case, and there's no doubt about that."

Judge Johnston said the court was "humbled" by the "compassion and understanding" of Pickering's family.

He found special reasons "by the slimmest of margins" to not impose the mandatory driving disqualification period of six months.

The reasons included that it was a misty morning, Pickering had been wearing clothing that blended into the nearby gravel, and that the matter occurred at low speed.

Judge Johnston instead sentenced Porch to three months of disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver's licence, 180 hours of community work, and ordered him to pay $3000 reparation.