Blacked out night of fatal crash, accused tells court

A MAN accused of inciting reckless driving said he ‘‘blacked out’’ and did not remember much from the night of the fatal crash which took the life of an Invercargill nurse in 2018.

Taine Rupena Tata Bryn Edwards, who is on trial in the High Court at Invercargill, gave evidence yesterday and said a person would ‘‘have to be insane’’ to let someone drive in the way witnesses had described.

Edwards has denied eight charges, including manslaughter by inciting and encouraging the driver to operate a vehicle recklessly, thereby causing the death of Emma Bagley who was in the car with her husband and two children when it was Tboned by Dejay Rawiri Kane.

Edwards told the jury he had been playing golf and drinking with friends at Queens Park in the afternoon.

He had played some holes and went back to Kane’s car, a

Subaru, to pick up more alcohol.

He ‘‘blacked out shortly after that’’, he told the court.

He had memory flashes — when they were driving in Queens Dr, Kane pulling out before Gala St, the steps of a friend’s garage, and ‘‘half second before the accident’’.

Earlier in the day, defence counsel Fiona Guy Kidd QC had challenged the ‘‘best practice’’ of Sergeant Frederick Shandley when he interviewed Edwards at the hospital and

Edwards said he did not think Kane had been drinking that night and the car was travelling about 55kmh.

In his evidence, Edwards said he did not remember that part of the interview and said he ‘‘lied to protect’’ his ‘‘mate’’.

Under crossexamination, Crown prosecutor MaryJane Thomas challenged Edwards’ on the blackout.

‘‘I’m going to put to you that . . . essentially your entire testimony about not remembering is a lie and I’m going to put it to you that you were the person that everybody described as the second person in that little Subaru,’’ Ms Thomas said.

Edwards replied he could not tell her that.

‘‘You think any normal person that had any recollection of any of that happening — weaving inside of the lane — would just let that happen? You have to be insane to let that happen.’’

The trial before Justice Cameron Mander continues on Monday.