R v Lyon - [2018] NZHC 1434

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE WHANGANUI-Ā-TARA ROHE

CRI-2017-091-2272

[2018] NZHC 1434

THE QUEEN

v

NATHAN JAMES LYON

Hearing: 15 June 2018

Counsel:

D La Hood and R H De Silva for Crown C W J Stevenson for Defendant

Sentencing:

15 June 2018

SENTENCING NOTES OF THOMAS J

Introduction

[1] Mr Lyon, you appear for sentence having pleaded guilty following a sentence indication to one charge of reckless driving causing death,1 one charge of reckless driving causing injury,2 and one charge of driving whilst suspended.3

[2] In sentencing you, I will first outline the summary of facts. I will turn to your personal circumstances, the pre-sentence report and victim impact statements. I

1      Land Transport Act 1998, s 36AA(1)(a); maximum penalty 10 years’ imprisonment or $20,000 fine, and mandatory minimum 12 months’ disqualification.
2      Section 36(1)(a); maximum penalty 5 years’ imprisonment or $20,000 fine, and mandatory minimum 12 months’ disqualification.
3      Section 32(1)(c); maximum penalty two years’ imprisonment or $6,000 fine, and mandatory minimum 12 months’ disqualification.

R v LYON [2018] NZHC 1434 [15 June 2018]

address the starting point for sentence before making adjustments for your personal circumstances, engagement with restorative justice and guilty plea. Following that I will deal with additional sentencing matters.

The offending

[3] At approximately 10.20 am on 19 March 2017, you were driving a Mazda RX7 twin turbo car north on Wellington Road, Paekākāriki. Your 10 year old stepdaughter was in the passenger seat. You lost control of the car, which mounted the footpath on the opposite side of the road and hit the victim, Carolyn Boyd, who was out jogging that morning. She suffered multiple serious injuries as a result of the crash, from which she did not recover. She died at the scene. Your stepdaughter sustained a gash to her head requiring stitches.

[4] Wellington Road travels for about 110 metres north of the intersection with Ocean Road before taking a slight left bend with an uphill gradient to the intersection with Tarawa Street. This part of Wellington Road is a residential area with a footpath on the eastern side leading to a primary school.

[5] That stretch of Wellington Road was resealed on 15 March 2017 although the road had not been swept of loose gravel. As a result, there were no road markings on this part of the road. The patch of loose gravel began about 90 metres before the slight left bend.

[6] The area is in a 50 kilometre per hour zone. By the day of the accident, the temporary 30 kilometre per hour signage in force during resealing had been removed. The Traffic Management Plan for the resealing works required that the speed restriction of 30 kilometres per hour remain in place until the road was swept of loose chip. This did not occur. There were roadwork signs, northbound and southbound, warning drivers of loose chip and the fact of the new seal.

[7] You had driven…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Lyon

Details

AGLC: R v Lyon [2018] NZHC 1434
Case: [2018] NZHC 1434
Decision Date: 15 June 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Nathan James Lyon was sentenced in the High Court of New Zealand after pleading guilty to reckless driving causing death, reckless driving causing injury, and driving while suspended. The court heard that Lyon lost control of his car while driving at high speed on a road under construction, resulting in the death of Carolyn Boyd, who was jogging, and injury to his stepdaughter. Lyon's sentencing was influenced by his personal history of driving-related offenses, his remorse, and the impact on his family, particularly as his partner would lose her employment if he were imprisoned. The court also considered the victim impact statements from Boyd's family and Lyon's participation in a restorative justice conference.

The legal issues in the case centered around determining the appropriate starting point for sentencing, considering Lyon's personal circumstances, his remorse, and the impact of his guilty plea. The court had to balance the need for deterrence and denunciation against the mitigating factors presented. The court decided that a starting point of four years' imprisonment was appropriate, with additional considerations for Lyon's role as a primary caregiver, his remorse, and his participation in restorative justice. After applying discounts for these factors, the court sentenced Lyon to 28 months' imprisonment, with an additional eight months for the other charges, to be served concurrently. Lyon was also disqualified from driving for four years.

The court concluded that the sentence adequately reflected the purposes of sentencing, including deterrence, denunciation, and promoting responsibility and rehabilitation. Lyon was also ordered to serve four years of disqualification from driving upon his release from prison.

Orders