Killer driver to help others
Jordan McGrath killed a best mate in an alcohol-fuelled crash.
Now police have asked the
34-year-old to help them educate recidivist drink-drivers about the dangers of getting behind the wheel drunk.
‘‘If I can stop someone doing what I did ... even one person, it is worth it,’’ he says.
McGrath was driving a car that slid off the road, rolled several times and smashed into a house in Greymouth in 2014.
He was twice the legal bloodalcohol limit and was going
142kmh in a 50kmh zone.
The crash claimed the life of
26-year-old Judd Hall, and left McGrath and another of his friends with serious injuries.
McGrath, who at the time had two previous drink-driving convictions, pleaded guilty to several charges, including manslaughter, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of two years.
In May, McGrath, who works as an apprentice builder on the West Coast, spoke publicly for the first time about the crash when he was interviewed for The Homicide Report ,a data investigation examining why New Zealanders kill.
He spoke of the guilt he carried for killing his friend and his desire to turn his life around and educate others, particularly those in rural areas, about the dangers of drink-driving.
Police approached McGrath after reading the story and asked if he would speak at the Alcohol Impairment Education Programme.
The full-day course is aimed at changing the behaviours of repeat drink-drivers.
Tasman district road policing manager Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews said McGrath was a ‘‘great fit’’ for the programme, which was ‘‘trying to intervene in people’s lives ... making them think about alternatives’’.
‘‘It is unusual for someone to be so open and honest about what has happened [to them] and how they moved forward and turned their life around,’’ Andrews said.
‘‘We want people to hear his story.’’
McGrath said he was ‘‘humbled’’ to be approached by police and hoped he would have a positive impact on those battling similar demons to him.
Before he was jailed, McGrath told Hall’s mother he would work hard to become a better person and make something of his life.
Sharing his story with repeat drink-drivers to deter them from getting behind the wheel drunk again was part of fulfilling that promise, he said.
‘‘The easy option would be to roll into a ball and pretend that nothing happened but it did.
‘‘There is no point going through all this and someone not learning and that is what it is about.’’
McGrath said his story was ‘‘raw, real and remorseful’’ and he hoped some of the ‘‘terrible decisions’’ he made could be turned into a ‘‘semi positive for someone else’’.
‘‘I want to show that it is not over – when things do happen you can come back from it.’’