Drunk driver to police after hit-and-run: Did I kill someone?
The man responsible for a deadly hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?”
Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red light in his BMW, striking them as they were on a pedestrian crossing in the early hours of June 18.
Both were taken to hospital, one in a serious condition and one critical.
Casidhe Maguire, known as Cass, died in hospital several weeks later. The other pedestrian suffered serious injuries, requiring several operations.
Court documents show Tuitama had already been banned from driving multiple times in the months before the fatal incident and wasn’t supposed to be driving.
While the impact threw both women in the air, Tuitama didn’t stop, driving off while his victims lay critically injured on Cable St.
Yesterday, before a packed public gallery in the Wellington District Court, Tuitama was jailed for four years and four months after earlier admitting charges of manslaughter, reckless driving causing injury, failing to stop and drink driving.
Sentencing Justice Andru Isac told Tuitama his driving that night was some of the worst imaginable.
Crown prosecutor Rushika De Silva sought a sentence of eight years in prison, citing eight aggravating factors including Tuitama’s level of intoxication, his pattern of bad driving, speed and failure to stop and the effect of his offending on his victims.
Tuitama’s lawyer, Lucie Scott, suggested a starting point of 6.5 years in jail was more appropriate, saying her client did not shy from his reckless and impulsive driving that night.
Justice Isac began sentencing with a starting point of eight years. He arrived at a sentence of four years and four months, after calculating a 45 per cent discount, taking into account Tuitama’s guilty plea, his youth and the steps he’d taken in rehabilitation.
According to the summary of facts, Tuitama’s Saturday night started at the Johnsonville Rugby Club celebrating his “blazer game”.
Just after midnight he drove to Wellington, first on the motorway and then along an area known as “the Quays” which runs adjacent to the capital’s waterfront.
The summary showed that as Tuitama headed towards town he reached speeds of up to 150km/h. He slowed while passing a speed camera on the motorway and again while passing an police alcohol checkpoint on the other side of the road, when he’d left the motorway.
Once clear of the checkpoint, he sped up and drove down the main arterial route reaching speeds of up to 115km/h.
His partner, who was in the passenger seat, was begging him to slow down and stop, even gripping his leg. Despite this he drove at speed, running two sets of red lights.
At traffic lights at the intersection of Cable St and Taranaki St Wharf, Tuitama narrowly missed a car coming through a green light.
He didn’t brake as he ploughed through the intersection at 85km/h, before hitting the women, who were crossing on a green light.
When Tuitama was found on Evans Bay Parade, a police car had to manoeuvre in front of his BMW to get him to stop. Upon being arrested, Tuitama told police: “I know I shouldn’t have driven; I’ve drunk too much.” He asked officers: “Did I kill someone?”
He said: “I’ll accept the punishment, I know I did wrong.”
A breath test showed he had
993mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, nearly four times the legal limit of
250mcg.
He was not wearing the contact lenses that were required as part of his driving licence.
He told police he was too drunk and couldn’t see properly. He didn’t know why he didn’t stop.
Maguire died about three weeks later in Wellington Hospital. An online funeral notice said she died surrounded by loved ones.
“Cass was loved and will be dearly missed by her family,” it said.
The 28-year-old mother had previously worked as a senior project coordinator at the Ministry of Health.
Tributes left for her described her as a “gem of a lady” with “a good and kind heart and soul”.
In a message to Maguire’s young child, one friend said “your mum was beautiful, caring, funny and touched many lives”.
“Our prayers go out to her amazing partner, beautiful baby boy and all her family and friends,” another said.
Tuitama was also ordered to pay a $15,000 emotional harm payment to Maguire’s family and disqualified from driving for four years once he’s released from prison.