Anger at driver’s sentence
Families fume over jail term for crash that killed five boys
Ayoung driver behind a crash that killed five teenagers has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Family members sitting in a packed High Court public gallery in Timaru were angered by Justice Rob Osborne’s final sentence.
“Grow eyes in the back of your f ****** head, boy,” one man yelled before storming out of the courtroom.
Others muttered it was “disgusting” as they filed out of court.
Javarney Wayne Drummond, 15, Niko William Hill, 15, Jack “Jacko” Wallace, 16, Joseff “Joey” Mccarthy, 16, and Andrew Goodger, 15, were all killed when the Nissan Bluebird they were travelling in smashed into a concrete power pole on August 6 last year.
Only the driver, 19-year-old Tyreese Fleming, who was on a restricted licence, survived the smash.
Outside court, Drummond’s father Stephen Drummond said he was disappointed at the sentence.
“He killed five kids,” he said. “You choose to drink and drive and everything else . . . it wasn’t a pure accident.”
Fleming’s offer of emotional harm money was turned down by the families, Drummond said.
“It was a kick in the nuts, really,” he said.
Goodger’s father Richard Goodger also spoke outside the court, saying he felt sorry for Fleming’s family.
Since the crash he has met with Fleming, and although at first, he wanted to “rip his head off”, he has partially forgiven him.
“It’s taken a long time for me to actually forgive him properly . . . I haven’t forgiven him 100 per cent,” Goodger said.
“He’s only a young lad. We’ve all done these mistakes — I’ve done it when I was younger. And I don’t wish his family to go through what I’ve been through.”
Yesterday, Fleming was sentenced
after earlier pleading guilty to five charges of dangerous driving causing death.
Grieving family members have told how their lives have been reduced to “living an absolute hellhole” after the avoidable tragedy.
There was a packed public gallery filled with family and friends, some wearing tribute T-shirts to the victims.
Harrowing and emotional victim impact statements from 16 family members were relayed to the court.
Through his defence counsel Thomas Nation, Fleming told the courtroom, in particular the victims’ families, that he will “forever be truly sorry” for the harm he has caused.
The court had heard how Fleming
got two boxes of an alcoholic vodkabased drink and drove to a skate park at Caroline Bay on August 6.
Goodger and Hill were with him and they were joined at the park by Drummond, Wallace and Mccarthy.
They spent time drinking with Fleming before getting in the car, with Goodger climbing into the boot.
They drove off, with Fleming in breach of his restricted licence.
He failed to slow down at an intersection and took the corner at 110-115km/h. Fleming lost control and he hit a concrete power pole at between 107 and 115km/h.
On impact, the car split in two. All of the passengers were killed instantly, the court heard.