Deadly drink driver did it again

Within 10 weeks of killing his best friend in a drink driving car crash, Bunnythorpe teen Ben Victor Jagger was caught over the limit a second time.

In the High Court in Palmerston North yesterday, Jagger, 19, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for manslaughter and two counts of excess blood alcohol causing injury. Justice Warwick Gendall was scathing.

"You did not learn from the tragedy."

Justice Gendall said people were sick of boy racers' "arrogant attitudes" and "wanton disregard" for others.

On June 6, Nathan Conlon, 17, of Feilding had spent the day watching Jagger play rugby and had a few drinks after the game.

Several hours later, Conlon was a front-seat passenger in Jagger's 1996 Nissan Silvia, which was being driven at speeds of up to 120 kilometres an hour through the Palmerston North suburb of Milson.

As details of the crash were revealed, Jagger looked down while tears flowed in the public gallery.

When Jagger turned off Rangitikei Line into JohnF Kennedy Drive about 11.20pm, he lost control, crossed the median strip, and collided with a Toyota Hilux.

Conlon was thrown through the rear window, striking a fence of a residential property.

Two of the five passengers in the Toyota suffered broken bones and facial cuts.

"It was a miracle that no-one else was killed," Justice Gendall said.

Jagger, who was also seriously injured in the crash, was caught drink driving in Taupo less than three months after the crash.

He was fined $525 and disqualified from driving for six months.

The judge in that case would not have known about the pending charges.

Jagger was arrested and charged over Conlon's death in September.

On the night of the crash, Jagger was six times over the legal limit for an under 20-year-old and toxicology tests showed he had also been using cannabis, Crown prosecutor Alastair Hall said.

"It was nothing other than outrageous driving with catastrophic consequences."

Since his first driving offence as a 16-year-old, Jagger had racked up a list of convictions and speeding tickets illustrating a "complete lack of judgement", Mr Hall said.

Defence lawyer Fergus Steedman said Jagger had accepted full responsibility for the crash and his friend's death.

"It was an act of stupendous folly. The charge of manslaughter was utterly appropriate."

It wasn't until six months after the crash that Jagger said sorry to Mr Conlon's family and friends, in a letter read out yesterday.

"I deeply regret my actions on the night my best friend and brother was killed, if I could turn back time and trade places with Nathan I would do so in a heartbeat."

Justice Gendall added: "Parents in these circumstances may never get over what has happened, they only get used to it."

A minimum non-parole period of two years and six months was imposed on Jagger's five-year prison term and a six-year driving disqualification begins in February, when his existing driving ban ends.

- © Fairfax NZ News