Driver gets jail term for hitting pedestrian

A man who had been drinking before he crashed his car into a pedestrian has been sentenced to two years and four months’ jail.

Nicholas Edward Catlin, 33, builder, of the United Kingdom, earlier admitted drink-driving causing injury to Mitsuko Morisue as well as a charge of fleeing the scene, and was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on Monday.

Judge Bernadette Farnan sentenced Catlin to jail and disqualified him from driving for five years and he was ordered to pay an emotional harm sum of $2500 and $5000 in reparation.

His 42-year-old victim read a statement outlining the serious brain injury she suffered on March 3, which required about two months in hospital.

Morisue was standing on the corner of Adelaide and Frankton roads when Catlin’s car, seen ‘‘speeding and swerving’’, mounted the pavement in Stanley St and struck her, sending her up to 4 metres in the air and over the bonnet.

She landed about 10m further down the road.

‘‘I have absolutely no recollection of the night I was hit by the car,’’ Morisue told the court amid tears. ‘‘It took a long time to understand what happened to me.’’

Morisue was told of the events of that evening by a friend who stood alongside her at the time.

The Japanese national who had been living in Queenstown for the past six years, said she was still suffering from both physical and emotional pain as a result of the incident and subsequent brain surgery.

‘‘I had half my head shaved. When I saw myself for the first time, it really upset me,’’ Morisue said.

‘‘They had to make a cut under my left eye to relieve the pressure.

‘‘I still [have] memory loss and extreme pain in my head and body.’’

She was experiencing high levels of anxiety ‘‘about all aspects of my life’’ and wouldn’t be able to return to work in hospitality for a while yet, she said.

‘‘I find it difficult to have a conversation.

‘‘Even basic functions can be very overwhelming for me, especially crowded places.’’

Lawyer Liam Collins argued hard for his client to be considered for home detention and indicated some prosecution submissions speculated on details of Catlin’s previous UK convictions, which were not outlined fully.

Collins said the prosecution compared Catlin’s case to three other cases where a person was charged with manslaughter when providing a sentence indication. He said the prosecution treated the case as though a death had occurred.

Catlin’s employer was present in court in support.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Gerken said Catlin had two previous UK drink-driving convictions and numerous breaches of court orders surrounding his prior offending.

Catlin initially indicated he could pay $2500 in reparation to Morisue but still hadn’t and that was a factor, Gerken said.

The incident was not just a ‘‘momentary lapse in concentration’’, Gerken said.

Catlin had been drinking with associates at a bar after consuming six to eight beers at home earlier, the police summary of facts said. He decided to drive home. The car mounted the footpath and continued to where Morisue was standing holding her bicycle talking to her friend.

The impact threw Morisue onto Catlin’s car before she landed about 10 metres away, police said.

Catlin stopped about 100m up the road, got out of the vehicle smoking a cigarette and staggered backwards before ‘‘decamping’’ into nearby bushes.