Drink-driving teen at the ‘crossroads’ after crash

A teenager has been warned he is at a ‘‘crossroads’’ and must choose how his life will turn out.

Maasai Rautaniwha, 18, pleaded guilty to driving over the limit and to shoplifting, gaining himself a sentence of reparations and a driving disqualification.

Rautaniwha was already being monitored for previous convictions, and that monitoring is set to continue.

Since previous sentences had been relatively light, Judge David Ruth said this time ‘‘there must be some punitive aspect’’.

The defendant’s lawyer said he had told Rautaniwha he was ‘‘at a crossroads to choose the way his life will go’’.

Despite some history with shoplifting, the judge said the drink-driving incident was of greater significance.

Rautaniwha was driving in the Nelson Hospital car park on December 5 last year when he crashed into the gates leading to Motueka St. He proceeded to hit the gate several more times while attempting to turn the car around.

When approached by hospital staff, Rautaniwha got out of the car and climbed over the fence into Motueka St, where he was found by the police. When tested, he was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 798 micrograms per litre.

The legal limit for Rautaniwha, being only 18-years-old, is zero.

The judge said to the defendant, ‘‘if your family lets you drive [their] car in the next four years, they stand to lose it’’.

Another driver sentenced was Vincent O’Donnell, 55, who was over four times the legal limit when caught on December 16 last year near Motueka.

O’Donnell pleaded guilty to the charge of drink-driving, and received a sentence of 95 hours of community-work and a six-month disqualification from driving.

The judge took into account some mitigating factors, including O’Donnell’s behaviour before and after his drive: he had slept for two hours since he had been drinking, decided he was able to drive, and drove for some distance before reassessing and pulling over.

O’Donnell thanked the judge for the relatively lenient sentence, as he required the car for frequent, unavoidable travel. In the meantime, he will have to use his bike.