Justice Served as Drunk Driver Jailed
A touching and heartbreaking story of the young girl hit by a drunk driver has been documented by Tvnz.com.au. The mother of the 8 year old girl who suffered serious brain injury following the crash which saw a drunk driver travelling over the speed limit collide with the young girl. The sad but eye opening part about this story was that the 2 girls involved, were innocently walking along a pedestrian path when he vehicle swerved to avoid a van and hit into them, hurling them over a fence nearby. To make matters worse the driver attempted to flee the scene of the accident but due to the damage caused to his vehicle was unable to do so.
The report had this to say:
A mother has told a court it was “like a knife in [her] heart” to see her eight-year-old daughter in hospital recovering from brain injuries after being hit by a drunk driver.
In April Fereti Aiono, 27, pleaded guilty to four charges – two counts of driving with excess breath alcohol causing injury, one of driving while disqualified for a third time and one of failing to stop at an accident.
Aiono had been disqualified from driving for the second time just one month before the accident.
In Manukau District Court today, Judge Charles Blackie sentenced Aiono to two years and ten months imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of a year and five months.
Aiono’s car was confiscated by the court and he has been disqualified from driving indefinitely, but may apply to have his licence renewed if he can persuade a court he will be a safe driver.
On December 22 last year, Aiono drunk drove down Wordsworth Rd, Manurewa, at between 75kmh and 94kmh. The speed limit is 50kmh.
Aiono swerved to avoid a van, and lost control of his car.
The car then crossed to the other side of the road and hit two girls – aged eight and 11 – who were walking along the footpath.
The girls were thrown over a fence.
Judge Blackie said Aiono’s first reaction was to accelerate off the lawn of the property his car had landed in and flee the scene, but his car was too damaged to do so.
“You therefore got out of the car and ran off. Others who were in the vicinity apprehended you and brought you back to the scene. Meanwhile, both of the two girls, one aged 8 and aged 11 both lay very seriously injured. One girl might be described as critically injured.”
Eight-year-old Carmella was taken to hospital and spent ten days in a coma.
“She almost died,” the judge told the court.
Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/drunk-driver-jailed-hitting-girls-4967821
The sad details of the incident were tearfully told to the court by the victim’s mother. The girl was in hospital for a lengthy 10 days and there were fears that she may have been brain damaged. Even worse the innocent girl was in constant pain and had to be treated like a newborn baby by her mother. This incident should serve as a warning to other drinkers that driving while intoxicated can have such serious consequences and needs to be avoided at all costs.
The post went on to state:
Her mother was present at court this morning.
Sobbing, she spoke of the devastating effects the accident has had on her family, describing her pain as a “knife in my heart”.
“Carmella was in hospital for ten days and a doctor told us we could lose her and even if she did survive she might have brain damage.”
She said the recovery was a long and drawn-out process, and they missed out on the happy family Christmas they had been planning.
“Carmella was constantly in pain, just like a baby again in diapers. Very embarrassing for her.”
She said her daughter’s school performance had fallen since the accident – last year she was able to read at a 10-year-old level and was a leader among her peers, while this year it had gone backwards and she is scared to do anything.
“Carmella has gone through so much pain and suffering and now to know she has lost the skills she had before the accident is very sad.”
Aiono’s wife Debra who was in court to support him also wept as she read an apology to the girls’ family.
“There’s no words to express how sorry and guilty I feel to the victims and their families. I have young ones also and I would feel exactly the same if this happened to them. There hasn’t been a day I’ve stopped praying for the two girls and their families and also my husband.”
She said what her husband had done was “unforgiveable”, and he suffers from “guilt and shame” every day.
Debra Aiono said she couldn’t change what happened, but wanted to pass on a message about drink driving to society.
“It’s not worth it. Think about the consequences of your actions before you get behind the wheel of a car.”
Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/drunk-driver-jailed-hitting-girls-4967821
Call a taxi, call a friend or walk home but never endanger your life or their lives of innocent bystanders as the full might of the law will be used against you as it was in this case.
Posted by Peter Cutforth
