![\"Ronald](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4JQR93J_Hills_avif.jpeg\")
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\nRonald Kelvin David Hills, 63, was sentenced to 11 months and two weeks of home detention.
\nPhoto: NZME \/ Belinda Feek\n<\/p>\n
A man who fatally crashed into a speeding motorcyclist had three drinks at the pub after a “busy day selling items” before he got behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Ronald Kelvin David Hills’ “momentary lapse of judgment” saw him turn in front of the father of three, Richard Chase, who was travelling on his motorbike at up to 90km\/h on a 50km\/h Hamilton street.<\/p>\n
Chase’s death has devastated his family, who have now told Judge Gordon Matenga just how traumatic the past 11 months have been for them.<\/p>\n
Hills, who now lives in Auckland with his son, was meanwhile fighting to stay out of prison.<\/p>\n
‘Life isn’t the same’<\/p>\n
Six of Chase’s close relatives had their victim impact statements read to the Hamilton District Court, including that of his 13-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n
She said losing her dad was the “hardest thing I have ever had to go through”.<\/p>\n
“My dad was always there for me,” she said at Hills’ sentencing on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“He came to my sports games, supported my schooling, and never missed birthdays.<\/p>\n
“He was the kind of dad who showed up no matter what.<\/p>\n
“Life does not feel the same anymore. Sometimes, I still expect to see him or hear his voice.<\/p>\n
“I will always carry him in my heart, but it’s not the same as having him here.”<\/p>\n
Slurring his words<\/p>\n
The court heard that around 4.30pm on May 7 last year, Hills was driving his Subaru west on Norton Rd, in Hamilton, after leaving the pub.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Chase was speeding east on his Yamaha and pulling a “wheelstand”, or a wheelie.<\/p>\n
He’d just dropped back down to two wheels before he reached the intersection with Maeroa Rd.<\/p>\n
Hills, 63, had by then pulled into the turning bay to turn right into Maeroa Rd.<\/p>\n
Traffic was heavy, and as he turned, Hills incorrectly judged the gap and turned directly into the path of Chase, who was travelling at between 80km\/h and 90km\/h.<\/p>\n
Chase was thrown from his bike.<\/p>\n
Members of the public and a nearby police unit performed CPR and a defibrillation attempt, but he never regained consciousness and died at the scene.<\/p>\n
Hills, meanwhile, had turned into the Gull service station and spoke to police who could smell alcohol on his breath, and noted he was slurring his words.<\/p>\n
He returned an excess breath alcohol level of 577mcg. The legal breath alcohol limit for driving is 250mcg.<\/p>\n
A serious crash unit investigation found contributing factors of the crash were Hills’ alcohol level, Chase’s headlight being pointed in the air while doing the wheelstand, and his speed.<\/p>\n
Determining culpability<\/p>\n
Defence lawyer Glen Prentice asked the judge to look at the circumstances of the crash “as a whole” when determining his client’s culpability.<\/p>\n
Effectively, he asked the judge to weigh up his client’s “poor decision making” with Chase’s speeding and wheelstand.<\/p>\n
“It’s my submission that we will never know what role the defendant’s alcohol actually had in this crash.<\/p>\n
“Could this crash have occurred but for his alcohol?<\/p>\n
“Speed was a factor in this crash,” and due to that, it was unknown “how easily he would have been able to be seen”, he submitted.<\/p>\n
Prentice said on the day of the crash, Hills had a “busy day selling items” before going to the pub where he had “about three drinks”.<\/p>\n
Hills’ two previous drink driving convictions, from 1991 and 1992, were irrelevant, he said, as they happened more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n
He was remorseful and also had $10,000 to pay in emotional harm reparation.<\/p>\n
They’re in court to ‘eyeball you’<\/p>\n
Judge Matenga told Hills that Chase’s wh\u0101nau and friends were in court today to “eyeball you”.<\/p>\n
“That is part of the process.<\/p>\n
“They have expressed their anger and frustration at you, but also their deeply felt loss.”<\/p>\n
The judge accepted that Hills’ breath alcohol level was moderate, and not an aggravating feature of the crash.<\/p>\n
Hills was also waiting in a turning bay to turn right.<\/p>\n
“All of these actions are expected of any driver. I do not see these as being aggravated driving at all.”<\/p>\n
However, the evidence did show that he failed to keep a proper lookout and give way, which involved a “momentary lapse of judgment”.<\/p>\n
“At a time when that judgment was affected by the amount of alcohol you had consumed.”<\/p>\n
The fact that Chase had just completed a wheelstand, moving his light up, and speeding were also factors.<\/p>\n
“Drivers would not be expecting vehicles travelling much quicker than [50km\/h],” the judge said.<\/p>\n
As for Hills’ previous convictions, he agreed they were not relevant.<\/p>\n
However, Hills had received several speeding tickets in the past, which was an indication of his poor judgment, the judge said.<\/p>\n
Judge Matenga took a starting point of two years and nine months’ imprisonment, before allowing 30 percent in discounts, reducing the sentence to 23 months.<\/p>\n
He commuted that to 11 months and two weeks’ home detention.<\/p>\n
Hills was also disqualified from driving for 30 months and ordered to pay the $10,000 reparation immediately.<\/p>\n