http://www.stuff.co.nz/4189769a12855.html
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Family devastated by fatal crash, court told
A Masterton family's hopes of having their first Christmas together in years were shattered when Rhys Gard died in a head-on collision near Upper Hutt.
The 32-year-old was killed on December 16 after a car pulled out and hit an overtaking car in River Rd, sending it into the path of Mr Gard's motorcycle.
Yesterday, Virginia Mary Ngaheu, a 24-year-old mother from Petone, was sentenced in Upper Hutt District Court to 300 hours' community work for careless use of a vehicle causing death.
Judge Denys Barry also disqualified her from driving for six months, after which she will have to resit her licence.
"The victim impact statements paint a picture of a family riven by grief and loss and that won't fade," he said. "Their lives have been devastated.
During sentencing the court was told that Ngaheu owed more than $8000 in fines. Though she did not have a history of criminal offending, she had been convicted four times in 2003 for driving offences.
Outside the court Mr Gard's only brother, Lance, said he and his parents, Ted and Pat, from Masterton, were "emotionally devastated". Rhys had recently returned from a three-year working holiday in Europe and the family had been looking forward to spending Christmas together. Lance, 35, had seen his brother for just 30 minutes after he returned to New Zealand.
Mr Gard said he and his parents were not seeking prison time for Ngaheu. "We just want her to remember my brother's name. No sentence will ever justify what happened but it's probably a fairer way to punish her by taking away her free time. Hopefully she'll have time to think about her actions."
Ngaheu first appeared in Upper Hutt District Court in May and was remanded on bail. She pleaded guilty on June 12.
A summary of facts said Mr Gard was riding south along River Rd when Ngaheu, who was heading north in a left lane, pulled out suddenly, forcing a passing car across the centre line, where it collided head-on with the motorcyclist.
Ngaheu kept driving for "a number of metres" before pulling over and asking a passenger to drive her to a police station.
She wiped away tears as victim impact reports from the Gards were read.
Though the maximum sentence for the crime was three months' jail and a $4500 fine, Judge Barry said Ngaheu's early guilty plea and remorse justified community work.
, some days you are the windshield 
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This is the sort of action that makes me furious (and me angry ain't pretty!).
Originally Posted by devnull
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