A student accused of the manslaughter of an elderly man after an alleged road rage incident in Auckland is considering a guilty plea.
Bio O'Brien, 27, from the central Pacific island group of Tuvalu, faces the charge following the death of Jasmatbhai Patel, 78, in April.
Lawyer David Niven sought more time to work with prosecutors over the charge when O'Brien reappeared in Auckland District Court today for a pre-depositions hearing.
He said he needed fuller disclosure of the Crown case against O'Brien, a Unitec student, and wanted the case to come back before the court in a few weeks.
"Basically then we will have either a guilty plea or a request for a depositions hearing date," Mr Niven told the court.
"There is a large number of witness evidence that needs to be sifted through." An assault charge laid shortly after the incident was withdrawn today, leaving the manslaughter charge as the only one O'Brien faced.
O'Brien was remanded in custody by consent and will reappear in Auckland District Court later this month.
Mr Patel, the driver of a van, was attacked after what police called a "minor crash" with a BMW outside Unitec on Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, about 8am on April 7.
He was admitted to Auckland Hospital shortly after the incident and died the following day.
