Lawyers sum up in mum's manslaughter case

A combination of Wendy-May Connon speeding, using cannabis and failing to provide a booster seat resulted in her four-year son dying in a high speed car crash, a jury has been told.

Both the defence and the Crown summed up today in the High Court case at Wellington. Connon is charged with the manslaughter of her son Konrad Truger after she lost control on a right hand bend on Kahutara Rd near Featherston, Wairarapa, on January 16, last year.

Crown prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue told the jury Connon was impaired from the cannabis in her system, she had also been driving at 140km/h, and Konrad was only secured by a lap belt and wasn't sitting in a booster seat.

"It's a tragedy when a child dies and people get hurt, but it's a preventable tragedy," he said.

Connon's lawyer Jock Blathwayt said there was no evidence Connon was affected by the cannabis in her system.

He also pointed to a study saying in a major crash it made little difference to the survival rate of a child regardless of whether they were in a booster seat.

The only factor was speed, and the jury had to decide whether the Crown expert's estimation of 140km/h should be believed over the defence expert's calculation of Connon driving between 105 and 125km/h, Mr Blathwayt said.

The judge is due to sum up the case this afternoon and the jury would then retire.

- NZPA