Man sentenced for drink-drive crash that killed twin brother

A young drink-driver who crashed, killing his twin brother, has been spared jail but is already serving a life sentence because of the tragic consequences of his actions, his lawyer says.

Lincoln Charles Nuttall, 19, an apprentice butcher from Lower Hutt was sentenced in Wellington District Court today on a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol causing death on March 14.

Nuttall and his brother Vaughn, also an apprentice butcher, had spent the evening drinking and listening to music before deciding to go for a drive.

At about 3am Nuttall lost control of the car on a bend on State Highway 58, on the Pauatahanui side of Haywards Hill. The car fishtailed across the road before becoming airborne, crashing into a tree then plunging down a bank.

The police serious crash unit estimated that the car was going 131km/h at the time.

The brothers had each consumed eight beers and Nuttall had a blood alcohol level of 86mg per 100ml of blood -- just over the adult limit of 80mg but almost three times the limit of 30mg for people aged under 20.

Nuttall was also driving in breach of his restricted licence conditions.

His lawyer Louise Sziranyi told the court the case was a tragic one and that her client was already serving a life sentence because of his actions.

She said his family had suffered greatly and until the court case was over could not begin to heal.

"A lot of the grieving in this family has not happened yet," she said.

The men's mother was living her worst nightmare and on the night of the crash had gone straight from the morgue to a hospital delivery suite for the birth of her first grandchild.

The men's sister had to deal with the birth of her child and the death of her brother on the same night.

Both women were in court today, along with Nuttall's partner and about 40 other supporters.

The family did not want Nuttall to go to jail as losing another family member would only add to their trauma.

Judge Bridget Mackintosh agreed with Ms Sziranyi's submission that because of the unique circumstances a jail term could be avoided.

"This is a most unusual and particularly tragic case," she said.

"A prison sentence can't bring back the life that was lost."

She said Nuttall was a "motivated young man", who was "keen to get ahead in life".

The crash was tragic for the whole family, including Nuttall, she said.

"In many respects you too are a victim of what happened and you share the grief.

"You have to live with the knowledge that it was your driving that was responsible for the death of your twin brother."

Nuttall was given credit for pleading guilty, having no previous convictions, a clean driving record and references from his employer.

He was sentenced to 350 hours of community work, 12 months' supervision and disqualified from driving for three years.

- NZPA