Driver hit, killed biker as she was checking GPS

A woman who hit and killed a motorcyclist in Otago’s Lindis Pass was checking a GPS system on her phone when she veered onto the wrong side of the road, a police summary of facts says.

The 28-year-old woman, who has interim name suppression, was from Brazil but had been living in New Zealand since early 2023.

The woman’s lawyer said in the Queenstown District Court yesterday that the woman was intending to plead guilty to careless driving causing death, but she was unable to appear by audiovisual link due to technical difficulties and she would instead enter a plea tomorrow.

A police summary of facts said that about 8.45am on November 19 she was driving alone on SH8 over the Lindis Pass, towards Tarras.

Well-known Blenheim lawyer Philip Watson was riding a red Triumph motorcycle north.

About 10 minutes south of the Lindis Pass summit, the woman used the GPS mapping system on her phone that was mounted to the dashboard, next to the steering wheel, the summary said.

She did not realise that as she did that, her vehicle crossed over into the northbound lane, where she hit Watson head on, the summary said.

Watson died as a result of his injuries. She later told police she was using the mapping application Waze because she had not been in the South Island before. She had driven from Auckland the day before and only had four hours of sleep during the night, the summary said.

Defence counsel Bryony Shackell said yesterday the woman wished to enter a guilty plea to an amended charge of careless driving causing death. She was initially charged with an aggravated version of the charge.

Judge Stephen O’Driscoll rescheduled her appearance for tomorrow so she could enter the plea herself, and the judge could consider her ongoing name suppression and also whether to move her sentencing to Auckland, where the woman lived, as well as Watson’s children.

Watson was a well-known member of Blenheim’s criminal bar and a motorcycle enthusiast. He had been returning home from competing in a Queenstown half marathon at the time. It was the day before his 65th bithday.

Two of Watson’s children attended the court hearing via video link and Judge O’Driscoll offered them his condolences.

“I knew your father and he would regularly appear in front of me,” the judge said.

He had held a special sitting for Watson in the Kaikōura District Court where Watson was thanked for his role as an officer of the court, he said.