A Canadian tourist has been sentenced for her role in a serious two-vehicle crash near Taupō that left four people with serious injuries.
Renee Kelly Vanry, 57, of West Vancouver, appeared in the Tauranga District Court today where she was sentenced on four charges of careless driving causing injury and one charge of careless driving.
Senior Sergeant Fane Troy of Taupō Police said the crash occurred on State Highway 5 in Rangitaiki at approximately 10:30am on Sunday, March 23.
"Ms Vanry was the driver of a van and had been attempting to overtake a slower vehicle near a left-hand bend, with less than 100 metres visibility," said Troy.
The van was still on the opposite side of the road when a Jeep rounded the corner and collided with it. The impact caused the van to become airborne before landing backwards in a roadside ditch.
While neither driver sustained injuries, four passengers in the van suffered serious injuries. One has since returned to Canada and another is due to fly home this week, while two remain hospitalised in New Zealand. All face many months of recovery.
"Ms Vanry has taken responsibility for her actions, which has allowed the judicial process to be expedited," Troy noted. "Her misjudgement has had a profound effect on the lives of her passengers, the other driver, and her own."
Troy emphasised that the crash could have been much worse if not for the seatbelts everyone was wearing.
At sentencing, Vanry was disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to pay $1,000 for emotional harm to each of the four seriously injured victims, plus $1,500 to the other driver, totalling $5,500 in reparations.
Six other charges were withdrawn.
