Collis struck McDonald and he died en route to the hospital.<\/p>\n
The court heard neither speed, drugs nor alcohol were a factor and Collis told police she looked both ways but did not see McDonald approaching.<\/p>\n
Collis pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and at her sentencingmembers of both families filled the public gallery and the jury box.<\/p>\n
McDonald had a large blended family, which included six children, 11 grandchildren, a great-grandchild, two dogs, and birds.<\/p>\n
The former search and rescue member split his life between work in Whang\u0101rei and home in the Bay of Islands.<\/p>\n
McDonald had spent nearly four decades at Marsden Point, first with the refinery before it closed in March 2022 and then working on the site redevelopment project for Channel Infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u2018I will never get that time back\u2019<\/p>\n
Two of his daughters read victim impact statements detailing how his sudden death had left behind conversations they were never able to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many daughters and fathers, we had disagreements and I believed there would be a time for us to work through them,\u201d Sydney McDonald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we would have the chance to talk, to resolve things and to move forward. That chance was taken from me. Now I have to live with the reality that I will never get that time back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim McDonald also expressed her grief of unanswered questions and raising a granddaughter who will never get the chance to know her papa.<\/p>\n
McDonald\u2019s stepdaughter Tessa said McDonald was the heart of the family who brought stability, warmth and laughter to their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a family, children, stepchildren, and grandchildren, we are all grieving in our own ways. There are moments filled with tears and moments where we hold on to the memories he gave us. We miss his voice, his laughter, his guidance, and the way he made each of us feel valued and loved. Our lives will never be the same without him\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said her family also wanted it known that McDonald was \u201cnot a man who held grudges\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was someone who believed in understanding and compassion. We truly believe that if he were here, he would he may have been upset, he may have had strong words, but ultimately he would have shown kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n
At his service, Kerry McDonald was described as kind, respected, and generous with his time.<\/p>\n
Judge Greg Davis said the charity shown by the McDonalds was unlike anything he had ever seen in his career of nearly 16 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to blame my voice cracking up on having a bit of a flu. I don\u2019t know that I can … But when you read the generosity of human spirit that I saw in this report, my heart goes out to the McDonald family. When I see this, it fills your heart, well, it fills my heart, with hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collis applied for a discharge without conviction, which members of the McDonald family supported openly.<\/p>\n
Kerry McDonald was a respected figure at Channel Infrastructure, having worked at Marsden Point for nearly 40 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last thing we would ever want is for another family to experience further loss as a result of this tragedy. In the spirit of who Kerry was, a man of kindness, understanding, and forgiveness, our mother hopes that this connection can continue in a way that is grounded in care, respect, and humanity as both families find a way forward. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that something meaningful can come from this tragedy, that it serves as a reminder of the responsibility we all carry when we are on the road,\u201d Tessa said.<\/p>\n
Collis\u2019 lawyer Arthur Fairley said he was deeply impressed with the family\u2019s charity and explained Collis\u2019 view of the accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a big hill on the McCathie Rd side, we all know that hill, with large trees on it and a line of trees and bamboo on the One Tree Point Rd side,\u201d Fairley said pointing out the sun had not completely risen at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the lighting conditions at the time, he was there to be seen. I traverse that same intersection on my motorcycle as well, and whilst I\u2019m often wary of what might happen, it is nevertheless, as unintentional as it was, it nevertheless was an offence. She failed to adequately ensure the way was clear before she turned out of One Tree Point Rd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Momentary inattention\u2019<\/p>\n
Judge Davis said the consequences of conviction had to be weighed up against the nature of offending.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not dangerous driving where somebody, for example, decides to drive at 150k\u2019s an hour,\u201d Judge Davis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not reckless driving where somebody\u2019s driving at 150k\u2019s per hour, sees a double yellow line, decides to overtake straight into the path of an oncoming vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is often what\u2019s described as that momentary inattention that perhaps everybody might have as a driver done in their time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Davis acknowledged Collis\u2019 age and the impact a conviction would have on her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t see how the public will be deterred by a conviction in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collis was granted a discharge without conviction.<\/p>\n
Shannon Pitman is a Whang\u0101rei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ng\u0101puhi\/ Ng\u0101ti P\u016bkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cVery, very, very rarely do I get to see in the court a display of human kindness the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1970,1121,233075,3549,43941,19552,2109,11784,2993,233076,305,14236,78,3958,118785,30537,31271,59919,111,139,69,233074,15041,213,18835,9348,61,46003,1337,1869,26157,6730,4741],"class_list":["post-459265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-believe","tag-case","tag-collis","tag-crash","tag-discharge","tag-driver","tag-family","tag-fatal","tag-grants","tag-grudges","tag-have","tag-held","tag-in","tag-judge","tag-kerry","tag-kindness","tag-mcdonald","tag-motorist","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shiralee","tag-shown","tag-sports","tag-strong","tag-survived","tag-to","tag-ultimately","tag-victim","tag-whangrei","tag-words","tag-would","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}