Driver named in Otago motorcycle crash
A woman who hit and killed a motorcyclist in Otago’s Lindis Pass can now be named.
Evellyn Hitori Maeda Magahleas, 28, entered a guilty plea to careless driving causing the death of Blenheim lawyer Philip Watson, on November 19, in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.
She was visually checking a GPS system on her phone when she veered on to the wrong side of the road and hit Watson, a police summary of facts says.
Magahleas is from Brazil but has been living in Auckland since early 2023.
Judge Russell Walker did not convict her, but requested pre-sentencing and reparation reports ahead of a sentencing on May 7.
Defence lawyer Bryony Shackle argued for Magahleas to have permanent name suppression, as she had a long-standing mental health issue and that there was no public interest in her name being published.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin said Watson’s family strongly opposed the application for name suppression.
There had been a number of incidents in the Central Otago region over the Christmas and New Year period that contributed to the road toll, he said.
“The public have a genuine interest in knowing who is appearing on such matters before the court.”
Judge Walker said the argument for name suppression did not reach the threshold of extreme hardship.
According to the police summary of facts, Magahleas was driving alone on State Highway 8 over Lindis Pass, towards Tarras, on November 19. Well-known Blenheim lawyer Watson was riding a red Triumph motorcycle north.
About 10 minutes’ drive south of the Lindis Pass summit, Magahleas viewed the hands-free GPS mapping system on her phone.
It was mounted to the dashboard, next to the steering wheel, the summary said.
She did not realise that as she did so, 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.
Magahleas 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 had only four hours of sleep during the night, the summary said.