A 20-year-old man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter was estimated to be driving at 121kmh in a 50kmh zone when he crashed, killing Invercargill nurse Emma Bagley.
The driver, Dejay Rawiri Kane, yesterday pleaded guilty in the High Court at Invercargill to one charge of manslaughter and four charges of reckless driving causing injury.
Taine Rupena Tata Bryn Edwards, who was sitting in a passenger seat, was remanded without plea.
On December 7, 2018, Mrs Bagley (37) died when the car she was in with her husband, Leonard, and their two children, Eva and Flynn, was T-boned by the car Kane was driving, at the intersection of Newcastle and Clifton Sts, Windsor.
He was disqualified when he crashed, three times the alcohol limit and it was estimated he was driving at 121kmh.
Crown prosecutor Mary-Jane Thomas read the summary of facts to the court.
She said hours before the accident, members of the public observed the car Kane was driving - a Subaru - travelling at high speed, on the wrong side of the road and weaving in and out of traffic.
A member of the public whose car was almost sideswiped by Kane's vehicle, contacted police and followed the car at a distance to the Northern Tavern Bottle store.
He observed the driver returning a short time later to the car carrying alcohol.
After leaving the bottle store, Kane continued to drive at high speed and recklessly until they met an associate.
Kane drove the associate to his home where he consumed more beer.
At 9pm, the Subaru was again seen travelling at speed in the Newcastle St area.
Witnesses described the sound of the vehicle accelerating and then a loud explosion, described as a ''huge bang'' and a sound of ''metal crumpling''.
At 9.10pm, Mrs Bagley was driving north in a Kia car on Clifton St with her husband and their children.
As she was driving through the Newcastle and Clifton Sts intersection, her car was T-boned by Kane's car, pushing her car through the intersection against a tree, rolling into its roof and sliding to rest in a property.
Both defendants were trapped, while the victims were also trapped in their upside-down car.
They were taken to Southland Hospital where Emma Bagley underwent several hours of surgery, but died as result of her injuries.
Her husband was stabilised before being flown to Christchurch Hospital with life-threatening injuries and was in an induced coma. He underwent several medical procedures before being transferred back to Southland Hospital.
Defendant Edwards had a broken arm.
Kane's blood was found to have 155mg, plus or minus seven milligrams, of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, three times the limit.
The day after the accident, a serious crash analyst examined the area and estimated the pre-crash speed of the Subaru as 121kmh, while the Kia was travelling at 44kmh. The speed limit in the area is 50kmh.
At the time of the accident, Kane was disqualified from driving for a period of seven months.
He spoke to police and stated ''he could not remember anything''.
He is due to be sentenced on October 15.
Edwards was remanded without plea until a case review in September.
