By Niva Chittock of RNZ
A teenager has been sentenced on a manslaughter charge in the High Court at Christchurch for deliberately causing a fatal car crash.
Sandra Loveday was killed on Canterbury’s Old West Coast Road last August when her vehicle was struck head on by a car driven by 15-year-old Ryan Eastwick.
The 60-year-old died at the scene, while Eastwick was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
In the lead-up to the crash on August 7, Eastwick spent most of the evening in his room in Christchurch.
He was messaging in a Snapchat group, where one of the participants was bullying him.
His mother observed her son was down and his mood flat. He gave her a hug goodnight and she went to bed.
Eastwick, then aged 14 with no licence, took the keys to his mother’s car.
He drove at speeds of between 150kmh and 190kmh on State Highway 73’s West Coast Road, taking videos of the car’s odometer and posting it to Snapchat.
Eastwick then sent messages saying ‘goodbye’ and shortly before 11pm, called his mother crying and saying goodbye.
Around the same time, Loveday was travelling east on West Coast Road at approximately 100kmh.
When her car was about 100m away, Eastwick veered on to the opposite side of the road, straightened up and collided with Loveday head-on.
He appeared in a wheelchair at sentencing on Tuesday and cried throughout the proceedings, as did his mother in the public gallery.
Victim impact statements were read out in court by Crown lawyers on behalf of Loveday’s adult sons, Sean and Cameron.
Both were present in the gallery with a large contingent of family and friends.
Sean lived in Canada and said coming home would never feel the same.
“I’ve never worried before that something like this might happen, that I might not see someone again. But when I leave now I get the feeling ‘Is this the last time I’ll see my dad?’.”
He described his mother as a busy, loving person.
“As much as mum used to stress that she didn’t want to be a grandmother any time soon because that would make her old, it does make me sad that if one day I got married and had kids, she wouldn’t be around to see it,” he said.
His brother, Cameron said: “I will forever be asking the question, ‘Why her?’.”
“Seeing family will never be the same again without seeing one of the most important people in my life fills me with grief and sadness,” he said.
Friends described Loveday as being an avid gardener, a great support and full of laughter.
She had a love of travel and was very proud of her sons, one told the court.
Her death had hit hard in more way than one, with her sister no longer able to drive long distances due to crippling anxiety that traffic on the other side of the road would veer into her path.
Crown lawyer Deirdre Elsmore said it was a deliberate collision, and Eastwick was fully informed of the consequences of his actions.
“The collision was proceeded by high speed travel… filming, sending messages, texting, and of course he’s unlicensed,” she said.
“The really aggravating factor, in the Crown’s submission, is the complete absence of opportunity for Loveday to avoid the collision.”
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Bulger said Loveday’s family should have no doubt that Eastwick felt the full weight of what he had done.
“It’s difficult to put into words the situation these families are in. It’s a tragedy for both,” she said.
Eastwick’s intention that night was to end his own life, Bulger said.
“There was never any intention to cause anybody else any harm.”
Justice Rachel Dunningham said Eastwick had suffered a traumatic brain injury, ongoing mental health struggles and injuries to his legs that currently left him reliant on a wheelchair or walking frame.
He had also written letters of apology to Loveday’s family and was open to a restorative justice process, she noted.
“While I acknowledge there are a number of mitigating factors in your case which justify discounts on sentence, I have not reached a sentence where I can consider home detention,” Dunningham said.
Eastwick had earlier pleaded guilty to the single charge of manslaughter.
She gave significant discounts to the initial seven and a-half year starting point for his age, health troubles and remorse, settling on a sentence of two years and eight months in prison.
Eastwick was also disqualified from holding a licence for two years following his release.
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