Johdeci Te Kani has avoided prison on a charge of manslaughter over the death of passenger Fabian Takerei-White (inset) in a car crash in 2022. Photo / NZ Herald composite image
A young man who drove at high speeds and crashed – killing his best mate – has avoided a prison sentence.
Johdeci Te Kani was 17 when, while driving in convoy with friends after they’d all been drinking, he reached speeds of up to 130km/h before losing control, hitting a bank and rolling the car.
He also had cannabis in his system and was driving a Toyota Starlet with one functioning headlight and worn rear brakes.
He’d been heading to Tauranga, on State Highway 33, in December 2022, and neither he nor his front-seat passenger Fabien Takerei-White were wearing seatbelts.
After Te Kani lost control, both teens were ejected from the car, and 18-year-old Takerei-White ended up in the middle of the road. He died at the scene.
Te Kani pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter in March, on the morning a jury trial was scheduled to get underway.
Last month, Te Kani appeared in the High Court at Rotorua, where Justice Layne Harvey, at the outset, acknowledged the presence of the Takerei-White’s family and friends.
“Nothing I can say today will change what has happened. Fabian was a young man with his whole life ahead of him.”
“His loss continues to be felt by those he leaves behind. I appreciate the presence of his whānau here today to be part of what will be a challenging and emotional process for them.”
It was the early hours of the morning on December 21, 2022, when the teens were in a car driven by Te Kani, on State Highway 33 between Okere Falls and Paengaroa.
Te Kani held a learner’s licence and was an inexperienced driver who, under the conditions of his licence, was not meant to carry passengers.
The pair were travelling in tandem with another car, containing three of their friends.
The group left an address in Hamurana Rd, Rotorua, intending to head to Tauranga, and all had been consuming alcohol.
Te Kani’s car was in front, and an occupant of the vehicle following had described Te Kani as speeding up on the straights and slowing on the corners.
Roadworkers at a road maintenance site, which had a temporary speed limit of 30km/h, estimated the cars sped through at about 80km/h, failing to follow their instructions and the signage.
A short time later, both vehicles lost control.
Te Kani’s car hit a bank, rolled and ended upside down in the middle of the northbound lane. The other car hit a bank but came to a stop on the other side of the road.
Takerei-White was pronounced dead by attending ambulance officers. Post-mortem examinations later found he had suffered severe head and abdominal injuries.
A scene examination estimated the speed of Te Kani’s car at the time he lost control to be between 134km/h and 141km/h.
Justice Harvey’s sentencing notes, which were released to NZME today, refer to the now-20-year-old’s pre-sentence report.
Te Kani told the report writer that his friend had been “one of a kind”, expressing his remorse over what happened.
The judge also referred to a cultural report on Te Kani’s background, which detailed his troubled and unstable childhood. His mother had struggled with alcohol dependence, which meant Te Kani was often in the care of his grandmother.
When he was 7 years old, he had witnessed his grandmother being assaulted, and had lived in “constant fear for [his] grandmother’s safety”.
He’d also suffered persistent bullying, which had contributed to educational difficulties, and he’d left school at the start of Year 12.
The report said his home environment was “built around substance use” and had laid the foundations for future dependency.
He met the criteria for severe cannabis use disorder and severe alcohol use disorder. However, he had recently completed a 13-week drug and alcohol programme.
Crown prosecutor Laura Clay submitted that an appropriate starting point was in the range of five years and six months’ to six years’ imprisonment.
She said the consumption of alcohol and drugs, grossly excessive speed, a persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving, and the incidence of death as a result of the reckless driving were aggravating factors.
There had also been other offences committed at the same time – driving in breach of his licence conditions and in an unwarranted car.
Clay submitted that the offending was properly characterised by “a convergence of multiple high-risk features”.
She highlighted that Te Kani chose to drive while significantly impaired by both alcohol and cannabis, at grossly excessive speed, in a manner consistent with convoy-style driving and in a vehicle that was demonstrably unroadworthy.
She accepted that the mitigating factors were his previous good driving record, guilty plea and closeness of the deceased – being a close friend, meaning the emotional shock was likely to be significant.
Te Kani’s lawyer, Max Simpkins, submitted that a starting point of five to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment was appropriate.
He said one of the purposes of sentencing was to assist the offender’s rehabilitation and reintegration, and this should be given particular consideration when weighed against each of the other sentencing purposes.
Simpkins argued that given Te Kani’s age, there was a high prospect of rehabilitation and this should be a key consideration.
He said while the speed of Te Kani’s driving was an aggravating factor, it was not a case of two cars racing in convoy or making risky manoeuvres, and could not be classed as “deliberate or highly dangerous driving”.
The judge adopted a starting point of five years’ imprisonment.
He agreed with Simpkins that an appropriate discount for youth and prospects of rehabilitation was 25%.
A 5% discount was given for remorse, a 10% discount for background factors and a 5% discount for his addiction issues.
He was given a 15% discount for his guilty plea.
This led to an end sentence of two years’ imprisonment, which left the judge to decide if home detention was appropriate.
He said Te Kani’s potential for rehabilitation was an important consideration, as were the sentencing purposes of denunciation, deterrence and holding him accountable for the harm caused.
“The gravity of your offending, and the hurt you have caused cannot be understated,” Justice Harvey said.
“As I said at the beginning, Fabian’s whānau will carry the pain of their loss for the rest of their lives.”
The judge found that the appropriate end sentence was home detention.
“The courts have repeatedly affirmed that a sentence of home detention is a ‘real alternative to imprisonment’ capable of meeting sentencing principles of deterrence,” he said, noting the pre-sentence report recommended home detention.
“The various reports I have read speak positively about your prospects for rehabilitation, and that you have grown to appreciate the gravity of your offending. I also note that you are the father of a young daughter, and that you have made conscious efforts to be a present, attentive parent.”
Te Kani was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention, but this was reduced by one month for time spent in custody between his plea and sentencing.
He was disqualified from driving for three years, directed to complete a Road Safety Education Programme and was not to consume any alcohol or drugs.
Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.