Jayde Gilbert, 30, died last month after a man allegedly drove his ute into the power pole she stood beside.
Jayde Gilbert, 30, died last month after a man allegedly drove his ute into the power pole she stood beside.
A Waikato man has been charged with murder after allegedly crashing his vehicle into a power pole that a 30-year-old woman was standing next to, killing her.
Jayde Gilbert died of her injuries in Waikato Hospital the day after the May 15 crash at the intersection of Ōhaupō Rd andLorne St.
Michael Steven Karekare, 38, appeared in the Hamilton District Court today facing two charges: one of Gilbert’s murder and another of assaulting a man, also standing at the intersection, using a vehicle as a weapon.
His counsel, James Gurnick, successfully applied for bail, which was opposed by the Crown.
Judge Garry Collin, who earlier reviewed CCTV of the incident, granted bail and remanded Karekare without plea to reappear in the High Court at Hamilton later this month.
Karekare, of Springdale, near Morrinsville, was handed several conditions, including not to drive, contact witnesses, offer violence, or leave New Zealand.
Several of Karekare’s whānau, with police and the victim’s family, were in court for the hearing.
On behalf of the investigation team, Waikato Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Neilson thanked the many members of the community who helped Gilbert after she was struck or responded to appeals for information.
Gilbert’s mother, who didn’t want to be named, told NZME in May that she had spoken to a motorist who stopped to help her daughter.
Michael Steven Karekare, of Springdale, near Morrinsville, leaves the Hamilton District Court after successfully getting bailed on charges of murder and assault with a weapon after a woman died at a Hamilton intersection last month. Photo / Belinda Feek
“He was the last person that applied pressure to her neck and spoke some words with her because he felt that she was on her way out.”
She said her daughter was a “lovely, lovely girl who loves to have a good time”.
Gilbert’s friends brought her daughter an immense amount of joy, and she was “always dancing and mucking around and acting a clown”, her mother said.
Emergency services at the scene of a serious motor vehicle crash in Melville, Hamilton. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
She said it was very comforting to know Gilbert had someone to tell her “that she was loved”.
“He told me that when he went back to drop off some flowers, a song came on and in that moment he knew it was from Jayde.”
