Rotorua man in court for alleged drug driving in crash that killed four

A crash on December 9 left four people dead. Photo / Ben Fraser

A Rotorua man accused of causing a crash that killed four people and injured two others has been charged with drugged driving.

The two-vehicle crash happened on State Highway 5 at Rotorua on December 9 last year.

Dante Te Wero Noa Takiwa Lamont, 21, has pleaded not guilty to six charges – four of drugged driving causing death and two of drugged driving causing injury.

Police alleged he caused the deaths of Napier siblings Amelia Rose Stockdale-Frost and Ruben James Stockdale-Frost, as well as Tray-Dee Wall and Mary-Jane Heke. He allegedly injured Dion Herbert and Josiah Lamont.

Charging documents alleged Dante Lamont was driving with THC (cannabis) in his blood.

He allegedly had 25 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood, exceeding the 3-nanogram per millilitre level legally considered high-risk.

The charges were laid in April and Lamont has since appeared in the Rotorua District Court to enter pleas, the court confirmed.

He was on bail and scheduled to reappear for a case review hearing on June 25.

Ruben James Stockdale-Frost, 19, and Amelia Rose Stockdale-Frost, 26, both of Napier, died after a crash in Rotorua in December. Photo / Supplied

Amelia, 26, and Ruben, 19, were siblings from Napier.

Amelia was married to crash survivor Josiah Lamont with two young daughters, and the family had recently moved to Rotorua. Her brother, Ruben, was a musician.

Tray-Dee Wall. Photo / David Wall

Mary-Jane Heke. Photo / Supplied

They were killed in the same car as Wall, 20, a keen boxer from Rotorua.

Heke, a 50-year-old Rotorua grandmother, was travelling in the other vehicle.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.