The Gore District Court heard yesterday that Sandy Maree Graham (18) had had a tragic life and her parents bore some responsibility for her recent actions.
Graham, a labourer, admitted charges of dangerous driving and driving while disqualified on State Highway 90, between Tapanui and Raes Junction, on March 21.
The incident happened 11 days after she had been convicted in the Queenstown District Court for dragging a Wanaka policeman with her car on December 22 last year.
Graham was composed during her 20-minute sentencing, but appeared shocked when Judge Noel Walsh said the lack of electronic tagging services in Central Otago meant he had no choice but to send her to prison.
He also did not want to place any more burden on her grandparents by imposing a home detention sentence in their home town, Invercargill.
Graham shook her head at least twice and looked down at times while her grandparents and employer watched from the public gallery.
Judge Walsh said Graham's parents had left her to her "own devices" from her early teenage years and this had left her to lead a chaotic lifestyle and one where she encountered "problems with boundaries".
"You have had a tragic life . . . and some of the responsibility lies with your parents."
But the keys to sentencing her included denunciation, deterrence and the safety of the community.
"Your age troubles me . . . and you thumbed your nose at the [Queenstown] court's order.
You potentially endangered the lives of those on the road."
Sandy Graham
