\u201cI\u2019m required to sentence in accordance with the law,\u201d he said, noting the charge Wilson was found guilty of after a judge-alone trial \u2013 careless operation of a vehicle causing death \u2013 carries a maximum penalty of three months\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Ashley James Wilson, who caused the death of James Wyatt in December 2020, appears in Auckland District Court. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
Two months earlier, during a scheduled sentencing hearing that was adjourned, the judge had expressed his own frustration. <\/p>\n
The defendant\u2019s behaviour, including tardiness to hearings and missing repeated calls from a probation officer trying to prepare a pre-sentencing report, showed \u201ctotal disregard for the court and the process, it would seem\u201d, the judge said. <\/p>\n
\u2018Foolish and unnecessary\u2019<\/p>\n
James Wyatt, 26, and the defendant had known each other from primary school. <\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t close friends leading up to the December 2020 incident but they lived in separate dwellings on the same rural property in Leigh, where the victim\u2019s family has farmed for generations, dating back to the 1860s. <\/p>\n
James Wyatt was remembered by family as a doting father to his young son. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
So when Wyatt had friends over for Crate Day \u2013 a widely celebrated but unofficial holiday that has copped criticism for promoting binge drinking \u2013 Wilson decided to join the group with two boxes of Heineken. <\/p>\n
He also smoked two joints before taking a nap, the judge said in his sentencing remarks. <\/p>\n
Around 5pm, the group decided to drive to another area of the farm to look at pine trees that had been felled and Wilson followed in his own vehicle. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou and Mr Wyatt took turns to do doughnuts in your utility vehicle,\u201d the judge said, noting that Wilson then smoked a third joint before the group decided to drive back. <\/p>\n
While Wyatt started out in a car with his friends, he swapped over to the passenger seat of Wilson\u2019s vehicle after getting out to close a paddock gate. <\/p>\n
Wilson then accelerated past the other vehicle and up a steep paddock slope, the speed causing the rear of his vehicle to slip. He then overcorrected, the judge said, resulting in the car rolling sideways down the hill. <\/p>\n
Wilson said Wyatt, who wasn\u2019t wearing a seatbelt, opened the door and got out before the vehicle landed on him. Wyatt\u2019s family disputes that. Regardless, it is not in dispute that Wilson\u2019s driving was to blame for the death. <\/p>\n
Judge Nevin Dawson. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n
\u201cI denounce your conduct, because the way you drove that day was foolish and unnecessary risk-taking,\u201d Judge Dawson said. <\/p>\n
While some fatal crashes that result in such a charge are the result of \u201cmere inattention\u201d, Wilson\u2019s driving was \u201centirely inappropriate\u201d for the conditions, he said. <\/p>\n
Outdoorsman, father<\/p>\n
More than a thousand people attended Wyatt\u2019s funeral, where he was placed in a coffin handcrafted by his father and brothers. <\/p>\n
He was remembered as a kind and funny, talented athlete whose strong work ethic as a carpenter \u2013 he spent each day alongside his father, a fulltime builder and weekend farmer \u2013 was partially inspired by wanting to provide for his own child.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe absolutely doted on his young son,\u201d said his father.<\/p>\n
Wyatt was also known as an outdoorsman adept at fishing, hunting and diving \u2013 the person neighbours would call when they needed to track down a feral hog. But he was particularly well-known for rugby and cricket skills. <\/p>\n
Fatal crash victim James Wyatt was remembered as a talented outdoorsman. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
He was a top scorer for Pakiri Cricket Club. His family, used to watching him compete, can now only attend memorial games in his honour, his sister told the court. <\/p>\n
Wyatt\u2019s fiancee described him as the most genuine person she had ever met and \u201cmy safe space, my everything\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cJames and I planned to get married, have more children, travel the world and spend a lifetime making memories together,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was our goal, our future. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe would often say he wanted to spend his younger years working hard, so that later we could simply enjoy life together. He gave everything he had, unbeknownst, to his final years \u2013 his energy, time, his dreams, working tirelessly to provide for and secure his family\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of Wilson\u2019s actions, she said, their son is left without a father and with a \u201cbroken version\u201d of his mother. When still a toddler, their son would say he wanted to die to be with his father. It broke her heart even more to see their child\u2019s grief, she said. <\/p>\n
Problematic mindset<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s dangerous driving on Crate Day wasn\u2019t the first, nor the last, time his driving would come under scrutiny. <\/p>\n
Court records show that in the six years before the incident, he had accrued demerit points or licence suspensions on nine separate occasions for speeding and other driving-related matters.<\/p>\n
Perhaps more concerning, the judge pointed out at his sentencing, were his two post-crash driving convictions. <\/p>\n
Ashley James Wilson appears for sentencing in Auckland District Court nearly five years after he caused the death of James Wyatt in a fatal crash. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
He noted Wilson had expressed remorse in a letter to the court and through his lawyers. People with true remorse for their actions \u201cdo something about it\u201d, the judge said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019ve gone on to offend with further driving convictions,\u201d Judge Dawson said. \u201cSo you continue to drive badly after these events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of that, he said, Wilson has been assessed by probation as presenting a moderate risk of reoffending and a moderate to high risk of causing harm to others. <\/p>\n
The judge acknowledged a difficulty of the case was that authorities didn\u2019t know exactly how much drugs and alcohol were in the defendant\u2019s system, relying instead on witness accounts at his trial. <\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, it would have had some effect on you,\u201d the judge said. <\/p>\n
Given the three-month maximum, Judge Dawson said the appropriate starting point was nine weeks\u2019 imprisonment. He allowed a half-week reduction for Wilson\u2019s willingness to participate in a restorative justice conference and his offer of $5000 in emotional harm reparation \u2013 both of which were rejected by the victim\u2019s family. <\/p>\n
The judge then converted it to a non-custodial sentence, six weeks of community detention, because of the lack of serious criminal offending on Wilson\u2019s record. <\/p>\n
The 12 months\u2019 supervision that will follow, he said, will aim to \u201cassist you in getting over the mindset you appear to have\u201d. He also banned Wilson from driving for a year. <\/p>\n
The judge addressed the Wyatt family before allowing Wilson to leave the dock. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour memories of James will always be with you,\u201d he said, adding that he hoped the hearing would help them to move forward. <\/p>\n
\u2018Sorrow and rage\u2019<\/p>\n
The past five years have brought \u201cunimaginable pain and heartbreak\u201d for Wyatt\u2019s family as they dealt with the loss and the frustrating court process, his mother said in a victim impact statement. She attempted to read it aloud in court but had to sit down, unable to stop the flow of tears, and hand it over to a support person. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have lost a treasure,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has ripped away my heart and soul, destroying my very essence. <\/p>\n
\u201cLaughter feels foreign. I am suspended in a place of sorrow and rage.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the judicial system often uses the word \u201cclosure\u201d, Wyatt\u2019s mum said she found that to be a \u201cdetestable\u201d word. His death is something his family will never get over, she told the judge. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy life will never return to normal,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Other family members expressed similar sentiments. <\/p>\n
One of his sisters had been a nurse at Auckland City Hospital when the crash occurred but ended up leaving the profession due in part to the traumatic experience, she said. In addition to her lost career, the family homestead has been forever \u201ctainted\u201d as the scene of the crash, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cJames\u2019 death and the lack of remorse and responsibility shown by the defendant has had a profound effect,\u201d she told the court, pointing to the defendant\u2019s more recent driving convictions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese charges show that Ashley continued to choose to exhibit reckless and dangerous behaviour,\u201d she told the court, expressing concern that if the \u201ctotal disregard for the safety of others\u201d continues \u201csomeone else will die\u201d. <\/p>\n
Wyatt\u2019s partner, in conversations with the Herald outside court and during her victim impact statement, agreed. <\/p>\n
Crash victim James Wyatt left behind his fiancee Brittney and their young son. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cI know my words will never touch the heart of Ashley,\u201d she said. \u201cHow could he possibly understand what it feels like to have your heart ripped from your chest; to stand in court and plead for justice, hoping that someone who has taken so much from us will be held accountable?\u201d<\/p>\n
She accused the defendant of having acted in an intimidating rather than an apologetic manner on the occasions their paths have crossed since her partner\u2019s death. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not actions of someone with remorse,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing late on multiple occasions here in court has taken hours from my life, which then sets me back each time moving forward. Having to attend court time and time again only to walk away disappointed in the lack of respect he shows for what he has done.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames lost his life. This seems to all be a joke to him.\u201d <\/p>\n
Individually, Brittney Wyatt praised the judge, prosecutors, police and victim support staff for helping navigate the court process. But a general angst persisted among her and the wider family, a feeling that the justice system as a whole had let them down. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a matter of vindictiveness, Wyatt\u2019s father said, but surely there must be consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a duty of care when you have a passenger in a vehicle you are driving,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n