Disaster date ends in court

A man who seriously injured his date after driving off an Auckland parking building has been found guilty of careless driving.

In March 2016, Simon Hartnoll, then 39, drove his car off the fifth floor of the Newmarket Tournament car park in York St, seriously injuring his female passenger while the two were on a date.

Hartnoll, who was also seriously injured in the incident, was charged in January with careless driving causing injury.

Yesterday, Judge Christopher Field found Hartnoll guilty of the charge but did not consider a fine or community work to be appropriate, instead discharging him without conviction.

Judge Field acknowledged the physical, emotional and financial toll Hartnoll had suffered in the aftermath of the incident.

‘‘The accident has been tragic in so many ways. Firstly the injuries of the victim. They were traumatic and long lasting and you yourself suffered two fractured vertebrae in the neck and three in the back.’’

The woman required hair transplant surgery and Hartnoll paid $25,000 towards the cost of that surgery and other medical care along with other payments that could total $50,000, he said.

‘‘You have, in my view, adopted a responsible and caring approach to what has occurred to the victim.’’