Aswin Khadka Bk, 29, appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and two charges of dangerous driving causing injury.
Judge Duncan Harvey sentenced the defendant to eight and a-half months’ home detention.
The court heard that on January 22 last year, Khadka Bk was taking his friends home from a Nepalese function.
About 11.40pm, the man was driving on State Highway6, Centre Bush.
Before the intersection there was a "stop ahead" sign. A passenger noticed it and yelled at the driver to stop.
But Khadka Bk continued through the stop sign at 80kmh and struck a milk tanker.
The court heard there was no sign of an attempt to brake.
The rear right passenger, 28-year-old Dilip Darai, died immediately and the other two passengers were airlifted to Dunedin Hospital with injuries.
Three hours later, the driver underwent tests which revealed a small amount of alcohol in his system and traces of cannabis.
At the scene, Khadka Bk told police he had not been driving and later said an Asian man he met that night was the driver and had disappeared after the crash.
On the morning of his trial, the defendant admitted the charges.
"The accident was completely avoidable had you only listened to one of the passengers, who told you to slow down and stop," Judge Harvey said.
He noted Khadka Bk had previously failed his restricted licence test, was not displaying L plates and did not have a fully licensed person in the passenger seat.
"You should not have been driving," he said.
The court heard all parties were known to each other, and the defendant had apologised to them and was remorseful.
The judge disqualified Khadka Bk from driving for 18 months and ordered him to pay $1000 emotional harm reparation to the family of the dead man.
