Man pleads guilty over beach death
Driver swerving, had MDMA in system when crash killed teen
A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty after a ute crash that killed a teenager on West Auckland’s Muriwai Beach.
Madison Chamberlain, 19, died when a ute flipped on the beach on January 21, throwing her from the vehicle and crushing her.
Jesse Hodge was named as the driver of the ute in the Waita¯kere District Court yesterday after not applying for continued name suppression.
He entered a guilty plea to charges of dangerous driving and causing Chamberlain’s death while under the influence of drugs. 1News reported it was revealed the 20-year-old had MDMA in his system at the time.
A group wearing shirts with “Justice for Madi” and “Love you Madi” printed on them sat in the public gallery.
The summary of fact details revealed yesterday that Hodge received his restricted licence in March 2022 and travelled to Muriwai with a group of friends, including Chamberlain, whom he had known for years.
He drove along the beach at about 70km/h, despite there being a 60km/ h speed limit, in a manual Toyota Hilux which he had bought a week earlier. A condition on his restricted licence stated he could only drive automatic vehicles, 1News reported.
The group paused for a break and and during this time seating arrangements were changed, with two people, including Chamberlain, getting into the back tray of the ute.
After driving off, Hodge swerved from side to side intentionally to do “snakies” or “swervies”.
The front wheels lodged into a patch of soft sand during a right turn, sending Chamberlain and another person in the ute’s tray flying as it flipped and rolled, 1News reported.
During the roll, the ute “impacted” with Chamberlain and she received “instant, non-survivable injuries”.
A fisherman earlier told the Herald he saw the ute before it flipped. He said a girl was in the back of the ute as a man drove it on the beach doing doughnuts.
Hodge was granted bail yesterday. A nominal date of April 15 was set for sentencing.
The maximum penalty on the drug-driving charge is 10 years’ imprisonment or a $20,000 fine, while a three-month jail term or $4500 fine is the maximum for dangerous driving.
The incident led to calls for cars to be banned on the popular Auckland beach to stop similar deaths.
Rodney local board chairman Brent Bailey told the Herald vehicles were in direct conflict with those who wanted to use the beach for activities such as kite surfing or sunbathing.
“The immature behaviour by a small segment of the community has already caused tragedy — and I think it’s probably avoidable.”
Resident Ed Donald said he had been pushing for years to have better policing of vehicle access to the beach. He said the speed limit of 60km/h was ridiculous and should be dropped to 10km/h. Police should also be deployed to prosecute rulebreakers.
Donald said Chamberlain’s death was “tragic” and feared more could follow if action wasn’t taken.
“How many deaths do you need?”