Red light runner ‘sorry’
A Christchurch family are haunted by the careless actions of a 22-year-old truck driver who ran a red light and crashed into a car, killing two and injuring three others.
Casey James Winter’s sentencing in the Christchurch District Court yesterday started with two pastors saying prayers in Samoan and English, and the reading of eight victim impact reports.
Fulumoa Daly, 35, and his 12-year-old nephew Ezekiel Loua, died in the crash on the corner of Yaldhurst and Russley roads on April 5.
Daly’s wife, Sefulu Annie Teevale-Daly, received skull bruising and a lumbar spine fracture, while Zion Benet Taliauli and Zachariah David Fuata’i, both 4, received traumatic brain injuries.
Teevale-Daly said she felt empty since losing her best friend, a role model and a special dad.
Her injuries have healed with time and treatment, but her son, Zion, needs ongoing professional support for his brain injuries.
Driving made her anxious and she had to give up her courier job.
Ezekiel’s mother, Tusiaisi Tanieul-Loua, said she woke up hoping her son’s death was just a dream.
His injuries were so severe she could not see him for three days, and his face was crushed.
His father said they no longer had a funny clown in the family, who brought them joy. His son was all he thought about.
Zachariah’s father said he was scared his son was going to lose his life. The preschooler was in a coma for seven weeks. He was struggling to walk and talk, and had to be fed.
Daly’s sister said her brother was kind-hearted, and the best brother any sister could ask for.
A sister-in-law and aunt of the two who died said the family had come to Christchurch for their father’s 80th birthday. Instead of celebrating, they were grieving.
Some of the report writers said they forgave Winter.
Crown prosecutor John Whitcombe said Winter had increased responsibility to take care because of the size of the truck he was driving. He said Winter pleaded guilty immediately to the charges of careless driving causing two deaths and careless driving causing three injuries.
Winter said he was truly sorry for the pain and suffering he had caused.
He said he never imagined he would be in this situation and never intentionally ran a red light. ‘‘It was a complete accident.’’
Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger said three families were hurting and Winter accepted responsibility for that.
Judge Paul Kellar said Winter was a professional driver of a large fully laden truck, and the level of carelessness was moderate to high, but the truck’s GPS said he was not speeding.
He sentenced him to four months’ community detention with a curfew from 8pm to 5.30am, 200 hours’ community work, and reparation to the families of $20,000.
He also disqualified him from holding any licence for 18 months.
Following the hearing, Tanieul-Loua said the family were ‘‘gutted’’ with the sentencing, but understood no sentence could bring their loved ones back.
‘‘We’ll just take it as an end to that chapter and now we can actually grieve.’’