A Dunedin man has been jailed for causing the death of his partner and shattering a family\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
Andrew Jayden Mercer, 32, appeared in the High Court at Dunedin this morning after he earlier admitted the manslaughter of Robert Douglas Ralston and refusing to undertake a compulsory impairment test.<\/p>\n
On March 29, after an argument, the defendant was driving aggressively while the victim was perched on the back of the attached trailer.<\/p>\n
After Mercer turned a corner, causing the trailer to swing out and a tyre to blow, Ralston jumped off the trailer and hit the ground, causing ultimately fatal head injuries.<\/p>\n
This morning Justice Lisa Preston sentenced Mercer to two years and ten months\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Through teary eyes the victim’s mother told the court how the loss of her only child had left her heartbroken.<\/p>\n
\u201cRob was a very caring guy, he had problems at times, but he loved his family, his dogs, his friends,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never got to live his whole life. As a parent I’m supposed to go before him. I am heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident made her angry, and she described the pain she felt in deciding to turn off her son\u2019s life support.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew needs to be made accountable. . . no one has the right to take someone else’s life. Every life is precious, Rob\u2019s life was precious,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss him every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Ralston\u2019s aunty said no sentence could bring her nephew back, but she hoped his memory would be honoured with justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cRob didn’t need to die, this wasn’t an accident, it didn’t need to happen. Rob should be here today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur lives are shattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer sobbed as the victim\u2019s family read their statements and through most of the sentencing.<\/p>\n
The court heard that on March 29, Mercer had been at a Brockville address with Mr Ralston when an argument erupted.<\/p>\n
The defendant, who only holds a learner licence, got into his Toyota and drove past the victim who then walked into the middle of the road.<\/p>\n
Mercer responded by driving at Mr Ralston before swerving to avoid a collision.<\/p>\n
The victim threw a stick at the car as he left the scene, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Hours later, Mercer returned to the Turnbull St address, this time towing a trailer of firewood.<\/p>\n
The verbal spat continued and Mr Ralston threw a block of wood, smashing one of the car\u2019s windows.<\/p>\n
As the defendant pulled away, court documents detailed how the victim climbed onto the draw bar and hauled himself onto the cage.<\/p>\n
Mercer, initially unaware his partner was clinging on, turned into Brockville Rd and where a tyre on the trailer burst.<\/p>\n
After about 100m, Mr Ralston jumped off and sustained serious head injuries as he hit the road.<\/p>\n
Mercer was described as \u201cvery upset\u201d at the scene, and immediately stopped to render assistance to his injured partner.<\/p>\n
Court documents noted he passed a breath-alcohol test but there were concerns he was intoxicated from drug use.<\/p>\n
While he refused to take an impairment test, he later admitted to using methamphetamine an hour before the incident.<\/p>\n
Mr Ralston was placed on life support but succumbed to his injuries the following month.<\/p>\n
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith highlighted the defendant\u2019s “lengthy history\u201d of driving infringements and convictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlainly, the driving [in this case] was seriously aggressive,\u201d Mr Smith said.<\/p>\n
The Crown said imprisonment was the only appropriate outcome in the circumstances.<\/p>\n
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said Mercer had \u201cdeep regret\u201d for the offending and argued a sentence of home detention should be imposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the time of the offending. . . he has expressed considerable amounts of distress and also remorse,\u201d Ms Saunderson-Warner said.<\/p>\n
She highlighted the defendant\u2019s reduced cognitive ability caused by a traumatic head injury he suffered when he was hit by a car at age 10.<\/p>\n
Mrs Saunderson-Warner said a sentence of imprisonment would be disproportionately severe for Mercer, however the reasons why were suppressed.<\/p>\n
As well as the sentence of imprisonment, Justice Preston also disqualified Mercer from driving for two years.<\/p>\n