Reckless driver jailed for death of girl at bus stop [1]
Friday, February 22, 2019 - 19:15
Vainiaku ‘Aisea (38) was sentenced to two-years and three-months for reckless driving that caused the death of a 12-year-old girl who was waiting for her bus on By Pass Road, Nuku'alofa, in July last year.
Lord Chief Justice O.G. Paulsen during sentencing on February 15 said, 'Aisea had pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing death and reckless driving causing grievous bodily harm.
On reckless driving causing grievous harm, he was sentenced to 18-months imprisonment which is being served concurrently with the first count.
'Aisea, from Popua, was speeding and attempted to overtake two vehicles in circumstances that caused him to swerve off the road and onto the footpath hitting the deceased Hinemoa Mahoni and her sister Katalina (20), who was injured on July 14, 2018.
The court heard his car was travelling west on the By-Pass Road heading towards Teufavia Park. He had his niece with him as a passenger and was in a hurry to get to Teufaiva to attend a parade, speeding at around 65km/h. The speed limit is 40km/h.
‘Aisea was following two vehicles and attempted to pass them both. There were vehicles coming in the opposite direction and he was performing this passing manoeuvre one of those vehicles, a truck, attempted to pass vehicles in front of it.
The truck was moving very quickly and fearing a head on collision, he veered to the right and drove off the road into the corner of an intersection where the deceased and her sister were waiting for the bus. His vehicle hit them both, crushing the deceased between a gate and electric post.
The Chief Justice said it appeared that ‘Aisea was too distressed to offer assistance but there were others on the scene.
The girls were taken to hospital, and Katalina suffered injuries to her arm and was released but Hinemoa never regained consciousness and died the next day.
“This is a terribly sad case. One cannot but have considerable sympathy primarily for the victims and their family, but also for 'Aisea who has the burden of living with the guilt of what he has done.”
He said after regarding and reviewing a greater range of cases, he considered that 'Aisea's recklessness was moderate.
'Aisea was travelling too quickly and exercised very poor judgment in deciding to pass two vehicles on a busy road. There are not however some of the common aggravating features that appears in other cases (such as very high speed, the consumption of alcohol or a failure to respond to warnings).
“The final issue and one I had the greatest difficulty with is whether and to what extent the sentence should be suspended. The Prosecution accepts that it is appropriate to suspend some part of the sentence based on 'Aisea's lack of prior convictions and early guilty plea. I certainly agree with that,” he said.
“This is not a case where I can find that 'Aisea's moral culpability was low nor was the accident the result of a momentary lapse of attention. To fully suspend his sentence would fail to recognize that a human life was lost and another person seriously injured. It would also fail to deter others from taking unnecessary risk on the road in similar circumstances."
He then suspended the final 21-months of the sentence on conditions.