R v Hyde

[2013] NZHC 2586

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON REGISTRY

CRI 2012-091-524

[2013] NZHC 2586

THE QUEEN

v

JORDAN LEE HYDE

Hearing:	4 October 2013
Counsel:	P K Feltham for Crown P Surridge for Accused
Sentence:	4 October 2013

SENTENCE OF RONALD YOUNG J

[1] Mr Hyde you are for sentence having pleaded guilty to manslaughter; driving under the influence of drink causing injury; and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. You have previously been given a sentence indication which you have accepted.

[2] On the evening of 13 February 2012 you were at a house in Paekakariki. You were drinking wine and smoking cannabis. You behaved aggressively at that house and you were asked to leave by the occupants. You then walked down the road and there was a station wagon parked on a front lawn. The vehicle was unlocked and the keys were in the ignition. You took the car and drove away.

R v HYDE [2013] NZHC 2586 [4 October 2013]

[3] You began driving through the streets of Paekakariki. You drove down Wellington Road and then collided with a traffic island on Beach Road. As a result of the collision both wheels on the ride hand side of your vehicle deflated. You did not have your headlights on although it was by this stage about ten o’clock in the evening.

[4]    You  then  drove  onto  State Highway  One  and  headed  North.    About 500 metres north of Paekakariki when you crossed the centre line of the road. You were travelling about 15 to 20 kilometres an hour over the speed limit at that time.

[5] Travelling south in another car were Mr Tarr and Ms Reweti. You collided head on with their car. Ms Reweti was killed instantly by the impact. Mr Tarr was trapped in his vehicle. He suffered bruising to his chest, a fractured sternum, fractures to his right ribs, a fractured right femur and other fractures including multiple fractures of his right foot and a serious cut to his tongue. He was taken to hospital and admitted.

[6] You should not have been driving at all. You were driving in breach of your licence and you were driving with an excess breath alcohol level of 194 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, almost two and a half times the maximum permitted. Cannabis was also found in your blood.

[7]    You have previous convictions for driving with excess breath alcohol and use of cannabis. In 2006 you were convicted of driving with excess breath alcohol and you were again convicted similarly in 2007. You have other offences but they are mostly nuisance offending but do include unlawfully interfering with vehicles.

[8] I have read the probation report. At 22 years of age it notes you have previous convictions but you have never previously been imprisoned. But you have had sentences of supervision designed to help and support you. The probation report notes that you are at high risk of reoffending given the pattern and frequency of your previous offending. There have been problems with your mental health; problems with your lack of acceptance of responsibility and empathy with the victim in this

case. The probation report notes that you are currently managing both your mental and physical health poorly and there are serious concerns about both.

[9]  I ordered and received an updated report from Dr Barry-Walsh, a psychiatrist. His report tells me that you were first diagnosed with the psychiatric illness in 2007 and that was found to be schizophrenia. You have been the subject of a number of psychiatric reports since that time and you’ve had considerable contact with mental health organisations.

[10] In addition the report notes you’ve had considerable physical problems, a serious pancreatitis which required an operation and difficulties with recovery. With those problems your mental health has improved in recent times and there was no suggestion that you would not be able to stand trial because of any mental disorder. But quite recently there has again been some deterioration in your mental health particularly as you faced the prospect of this court day and this sentencing.

[11] The psychiatric report says there has been difficulty in establishing any direct link between your mental disorder and the offending but it was clear that at the time of the offending you were mentally ill. Continuing contact with mental health services will be necessary.

[12] The Crown say that the aggravating features of your offending include the consumption of alcohol and cannabis; the seriously dangerous driving; your excessive speed; the fact that you drove when you were in breach of your licence; the unlawfully taking of the car and of course the fact that you caused the death of a woman and serious injuries to a man. Finally they point out the fact that you were offending while you were on bail and emphasise your previous convictions.

[13] The Crown accept that it is open for me to find your mental health has had some influence on your offending. They accept a discount of between 20 and 25 per cent for that in your plea of guilty.

[14]  I have taken into account having read your counsel’s submissions and what he has said today. He emphasises that you were only 21 years of age at the time of the offending. But particularly he empathises the difficulty you have had over the years with your mental health and the fact that treatment for your mental disability has often fallen between the cracks over the years and at the time of the offending was unmanaged. He says that your mental health difficulties are relevant because they reduced, in part, your responsibility for the offending and mean that any period in prison will be significantly harder for you.

[15] He says reductions of starting points for mitigating factors should be in the region of 25 per cent plus a further 30 per cent for your guilty plea and remorse.

Victim impact

[16] I want to talk briefly now about the victim impact. I have read all of the victim impact statements and  of  course  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  hearing Mr Reweti read out his victim impact statement in Court this morning.

[17] The victim impact statements make tragic reading. Ms Reweti was a much loved mother, daughter, relation and friend to many. The deep effect on her family is heartbreaking. She had four children who have lost a mother. I understand and appreciate that her family will never completely recover from this loss. There will be, as they have said, always an emptiness. And the economic loss for the family has been significant. I want, therefore, to particularly acknowledge Mr and Mrs Reweti and their Whanau today and thank them for coming.

[18] Mr Tarr has also emphasised not only the tragic loss of Ms Reweti but the significant pain and suffering and economic loss that he has had to bear. The damage to his legs remain and his future is uncertain. I take into account what has been said to me about the victim impact but everyone here today will understand that no sentence that I can impose will reflect what a life is worth.

[19] I am satisfied that the proper starting point for your offending is one of six years and nine months’ imprisonment. You drove a car that you should not have driven, you didn’t have a licence to drive the car, you were grossly intoxicated with a

high blood alcohol level and you had taken the car when it wasn’t yours to take. You should never have been on the road that day.

[20] You drove recklessly colliding with a traffic island. After the tyres deflated you still drove on knowing then that the car was in a dangerous condition. And so you drove on to State Highway One when you must have known how dangerous it would be with two flat tyres. And inevitably a serious accident occurred. You would have been unlikely to have been able to control a car in that condition. And so the car went onto the wrong side of the road. This was extremely dangerous driving and of course you caused the death of a woman and very serious injuries to a man.

[21] As I said in my sentence indication I don’t propose to increase your sentence because of your previous offending but I do propose to increase it by three months by virtue of the fact that you offended while you were already on bail. And so the start sentence is seven years’ imprisonment.

[22] I accept that your mental vulnerability had some influence in the offending but it was not the primary motivation or reason behind it. As I have noted you have a long term mental illness and over significant periods it has been untreated but in part because you have chosen not to get treatment. But I accept that your mental illness is a basis for reducing your sentence because of reduced responsibility in this offending and that it will also mean you are more vulnerable in prison and that a sentence of imprisonment will be harder for you to complete than someone who is mentally well.

[23] I reduce your start sentence by nine months for those factors down to six years and three months’ imprisonment. Other than your guilty plea there is no other basis, in my view, to reduce the sentence. It cannot be said that you have shown true or significant remorse justifying a reduction; nor is the fact that you were 21 years of age a reason to reduce your sentence given you already have a history of offending.

[24] But I accept that your plea of guilty and acceptance  of  responsibility indicated by that plea means you are entitled to a 25 per cent reduction, the maximum available given you had indicated very early in the piece that you were

prepared to plead guilty to manslaughter. That reduces the overall start sentence to one of four years and eight months’ imprisonment.

[25]    You are therefore sentenced:

(a)on  the  manslaughter  charge  to   four   years  and  eight  months’ imprisonment;

(b)on  the  unlawfully  taking  a  motor  vehicle  charge;  six  months’ imprisonment;

(c)on  the  driving  under  the  influence  causing  injury;  18 months’ imprisonment;

(d)all to be concurrent.

[26] You are disqualified from driving for a period of ten years from today. It is a substantial disqualification but given this is the third time in which you have driven while intoxicated and given your unstable circumstances it is in the interests of the safety of the community that you remain off the roads and not driving for a significant period.

Ronald Young J

Solicitors:

Luke, Cunningham & Clere, Wellington Surridge & Co, Porirua, Wellington