Tamihana Curtis appears in Rotorua District Court for a judge-alone trial in November. Photo / Andrew Warner
Tamihana Curtis appears in Rotorua District Court for a judge-alone trial in November. Photo / Andrew Warner
Farmer Lance Houpapa was the “rock” of his family. But in “a matter of seconds”, a distracted driver caused the crash that ended his life.
That was the finding of Rotorua District Court Judge Eddie Paul, who rejected driver Tamihana Curtis’ claim he was not culpable for causing the death because he blacked out.
In what the judge described as a “dramatic” collision, Curtis’ car rear-ended Houpapa’s and ended up against the wall of a supermarket in April 2022.
Houpapa’s vehicle was shunted further down Fairy Springs Rd. He was taken to hospital but later died.
Curtis admitted a charge of driving while suspended and was later found guilty of careless driving causing death in a judge-alone trial on November 6.
He said the crux of his decision was that it seemed Curtis was distracted in his vehicle and therefore his driving fell below the standard of a competent and reasonable driver.
“He did turn away at the time, as he demonstrated, and in a matter of seconds and at the speed he was travelling, sadly his vehicle has entered the same lane as Mr Houpapa.
“Clearly Mr Curtis has been looking away at the time because otherwise he would have seen the imminent danger and would have braked or attempted to avoid it. None of those things occurred.”
Judge Paul noted in sentencing there was too little evidence to support Curtis’ blackout defence “to raise even a reasonable doubt”.
“It may be because of that accident and the subsequent head knock that you find it difficult, even after this hearing of all the evidence, to accept the consequences of your driving that day where a man lost his life.”
Judge Eddie Paul found there was too little evidence to support the defence's blackout claim. Photo / NZME
Judge Paul read part of Houpapa’s wife’s victim impact statement. She said she was a 61-year-old Māori woman living in Taumarunui running the family farm she had owned with her late husband. They were married 24 years before he was killed in the crash.
“Emotional harm has been immense with the loss of my husband. He was the rock in our family.”
She described “major family issues” after his death and said the stress of losing him had impacted her health.
She said she had spent a lot of time in hospital and her health had deteriorated.
Judge Paul noted Curtis was a low risk of reoffending and was remorseful.
It was of some concern Curtis used cannabis daily to manage his anxiety and ADHD. A pre-sentence report recommended he be subject to supervision to hold him accountable for his offending.
Tamihana Curtis was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court in February. Photo / Andrew Warner
Curtis’ lawyer, Matthew Jenkins, told Judge Paul that Curtis’ licence was medically suspended from the time of the crash, but that suspension was lifted 15 months later. Jenkins asked for any disqualification period to be backdated to take that into account.
Judge Paul declined to do so, saying he agreed with the police view Curtis should not benefit from relying on a medical event rejected at trial.
He said despite the terrible consequences of the crash, the maximum penalty for the charge was three months in jail or a fine of $4500.
“I’m also mindful that any sentence I impose today is likely not to meet what the family may think is appropriate when they have lost a loved one in such tragic circumstances. I am bound by the law and I am required to apply it.”
Judge Paul sentenced Curtis to 100 hours of community work and 12 months’ supervision. He disqualified him from driving for a total of nine months.
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.
