Damien Whitlow lay badly injured for hours in a wrecked car beside his dead friend, after an early morning crash in February this year. He says it was a turning point in his long life of crime. Photo \/ NZ Herald<\/p>\n
He was meant to have been dropped off in Hanmer on the way, but said the driver, who had allegedly fallen asleep at the wheel, \u201cforgot\u201d to stop.<\/p>\n
After the crash, a truck driver comforted Whitlow as he lay jammed in the rear footwell of the car.<\/p>\n
Whitlow told NZME a motorist who had just passed them saw the crash and called emergency services, but the site was so remote it took several hours for them to arrive.<\/p>\n
300 previous convictions<\/p>\n
The fatal crash happened months after two instances where Whitlow had been driving dangerously and recklessly, for which he was sentenced in the Nelson District Court<\/a> today.<\/p>\n The high-speed events last year, in which Judge Jo Rielly said he had seriously endangered other road users, added to his tally of 300 previous convictions for a range of offending.<\/p>\n The 46-year-old told NZME outside the court that the offending ranged from dishonesty to drugs and driving matters.<\/p>\n Whitlow hobbled into the courtroom earlier today, still bearing the signs of significant injury and with the help of a walker.<\/p>\n He had a large bag on top of the walker, expecting that he would be going to prison. He had even bought new clothes.<\/p>\n \u201cI see you\u2019ve got your bag packed,\u201d Judge Rielly said as Whitlow settled into the dock.<\/p>\n Despite previous promises to change his ways, as noted in a probation officer\u2019s report, he hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Whitlow told NZME he no longer had an option but to abide by his promise, out of respect for his friend who had died beside him.<\/p>\n He said that despite the tragedy and the ongoing consequences, he had got to live another day, and had since got his kids back in his life.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anything I learned, as I lay in hospital, is that I have to give this s**t up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would disrespect her \u2013 she lost her life,\u201d Whitlow said.<\/p>\n He was now serving a six-month sentence of community detention plus 18 months of intensive supervision and was disqualified from driving for a year on charges of dangerous driving and reckless driving just weeks apart last October and November.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to be off the road for at least a year,\u201d Judge Rielly said.<\/p>\n Whitlow was convicted and discharged on a charge of possessing methamphetamine, of which a small amount was found after he was detained by police.<\/p>\n A \u2018changed man\u2019<\/p>\n His lawyer, Steven Zindel, said Whitlow now presented as a \u201cchanged man\u201d who wanted to be better for himself and his family.<\/p>\n Zindel said he had finally learned that \u201cbad driving leads to fatal results\u201d.<\/p>\n Whitlow was charged with reckless driving after he was clocked driving at 99km\/h on the night of October 1 as he overtook another vehicle, his view obstructed by a rise on the urban Nelson street<\/a>.<\/p>\n He was initially seen driving with no tail-lights, as he followed another vehicle which had turned on to Waimea Rd from a side road, police said.<\/p>\n When stopped by police, he told them he had been \u201ctrying to get home\u201d and hadn\u2019t realised how fast he was going.<\/p>\n He denied he was racing with the other vehicle.<\/p>\nDamien Whitlow, who survived a fatal crash months after he was arrested for serious driving offences, arrived at court for sentencing with his bag packed, ready for prison. Photo \/ Tracy Neal<\/p>\n