Verdict in fatal crash upheld

A High Court judge says he would not have wiped the charges against a youth who caused a car crash that killed a Wellington teenager.

Police appealed against a Youth Court judge’s decision in August to discharge the now 18-year-old in a type of ‘‘clean slate’’ outcome as if the charges were never filed. The judge had shaken the youth’s hand.

But Justice Andru Isac said police had not given the Youth Court judge information that might have made a difference.

Based on the information available for the appeal hearing in November, Justice Isac said he would not have granted the discharge but he would not set aside the Youth Court’s decision on the basis of what seemed to be a police omission to provide the information earlier.

Police were concerned that in the two months leading up to the discharge hearing the youth had been breaching his bail and appeared to have been consistently in the company of Nomads gang members.

The youth had been given a two-month plan to complete with the expectation that if he did well he would be discharged.

The youth’s response while on the plan was troubling, but there was no clear explanation for why police did not prepare material about that in the two months leading up to the discharge hearing, the judge said.

Justice Isac said discharges had been granted in other cases where young people had caused crashes involving death or serious injury.

The youth was 17 when he caused the crash. While on a learner driver licence, and driving an unwarranted car, on September 8 last year, he was doing about 70kph in a 40kph area on Shelly Bay Rd, Wellington.

He lost control of the car on a bend, and it crashed on to the rocky shoreline below the road. His girlfriend’s older sister, who was 17, died and another passenger was injured. He had been drinking alcohol and his blood tested positive for cannabis.

After he was discharged the mother of the dead teen was outraged. She said she ‘‘couldn’t believe he got away with it’’.

The law prevents publication of some details from Youth Court cases including the identity of the offender.