Dean Francis Rodgers (52) appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon after pleading guilty to six charges of dangerous driving causing injury and one of failing to stop after an accident at the start of this year.
While one 13-year-old who sustained life-threatening injuries in the January 8 crash in Ravensbourne Rd asked the court to show mercy on the award-winning truck driver, the father of a 15-year-old was in a less forgiving mood.
He told the court he had seen no show of remorse from Rodgers since the incident and he still had flashbacks of the traumatic episode.
The man said he recalled regaining consciousness with his older son beside him not breathing while his younger son screamed from the back.
“I still think about the time [my son] was in ICU unresponsive, not knowing if he would wake up or wake up the same boy,” the father said.
Judge David Robinson said there was an argument that Rodgers deserved to be imprisoned for his actions but ultimately he agreed to show leniency, sentencing him to nine months' home detention.
Rodgers was driving with a passenger in a Holden along the stretch of road, which was the site of a fatal crash recently, towards Port Chalmers.
There was a temporary speed limit of 30kmh, the court heard.
As the defendant rounded a left-hand bend, he crossed the centre line, travelling at least 60kmh.
Rodgers hit a metal barrier separating the road from the footpath, then ricocheted into the path of the victims’ oncoming SUV.
Had the angle of collision been slightly different, there would almost certainly have been a fatality, the victims’ father said.
Rather than check on his victims, Rodgers spoke to a couple of witnesses, then fled on foot.
He only contacted police the next day when he claimed to have been asleep in the back of the car at the time of the crash.
Meanwhile, the victims were recovering in hospital.
For some, though, the healing process was long and arduous.
The list of injuries they suffered took up more than a page on the police summary of facts and Judge Robinson - a former coroner - said some injuries were consistent with fatal accidents.
The 15-year-old boy, his father said, had sustained a traumatic brain injury and both his sporting and academic pursuits had been put on hold.
While he was “heading in the right direction”, fatigue was still a factor that meant his education had suffered a serious setback.
Judge Robinson noted that while Rodgers had received an award in 2020 for his role in a truck fire, he also had two convictions - one for making a false statement and one for a false entry in a logbook.
The defendant claimed to have little memory of the crash, but that was doubted by Probation.
Despite that, the judge assessed the man’s remorse as genuine.
As well as the home detention, Rodgers was also sentenced to 250 hours’ community work and ordered to pay each victim $2000.
“My plea is to use your experience to improve the driving of others. Spread this message to anyone who will listen - because it needs to be heard,” Judge Robinson said.
