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An Australian man was sentenced to two years and a month behind bars after a drunken New Zealand heli-ski vacation ended with the death of his cousin and a 72-year-old man.
Mark Edward Hayden, 53, was sentenced for murder in connection with the death of Twigel’s Nigel Stuart Freeman.
Hayden’s cousin Stephen Hayden and Freeman were killed on July 3, 2017 when the vehicles they were driving crashed onto State Highway 8 near Tekapo. Mark Hayden was in the passenger seat, but was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Hayden, noticeably slimmer, appeared Tuesday in Christchurch Superior Court wearing surgical gloves and a surgical mask under his chin. He was visibly distressed as he sat with his head in his hand during the audience.
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Hayden, his cousin and three friends flew from Melbourne to Christchurch the day before the accident for a short helicopter ski vacation near Mt Cook.
The men rented two Toyota Highlander vehicles at the airport. The car rental company assistant noted that Stephen Hayden appeared intoxicated, but was assured that he would not be driving that night.
A few hours later, the men were in the same car when police stopped them on Peterborough St and Stephen Hayden recorded a breath alcohol reading of 1015 mg per liter of breath. The legal limit is 250 mg.
He was taken to the Christchurch Central Police Station before returning to the group’s hotel.
Later that morning, the group headed to the Mackenzie District, with Stephen Hayden driving a vehicle and his cousin in the passenger seat.
JOHN BISSET / THINGS
Twizel chief agent Les Andrew talks about the horrific crash of July 3, 2017, which claimed the lives of Nigel Freeman and Stephen Hayden. (Video first published in December 2017)
It was found to lose traction when it hit the snow on SH8 between Fairlie and Tekapo. The vehicle slid to the side and the rear wheels turned before the vehicle returned to the road.
A witness said the driver “was smiling and seemed to be having fun.”
When the Haydens stopped their vehicle on the side of the road, a short distance east of Tekapo, their friends stopped behind them. They noticed that they had a bottle of vodka in the car and they both looked drunk.
One of the friends tried to prevent Stephen Hayden from driving, but he quickly drove away.
Mark Hayden bought more vodka at Tekapo and was seen taking a drink from the bottle and passing it to his cousin, who also drank from the bottle.
Several members of the public called the police when they saw the couple drive erratically between Tekapo and Twizel. Witnesses saw the vehicle crossing the center line, passing other vehicles, and trying to get other vehicles off the road.
Senior Agent Les Andrew was dispatched from Twizel to search for the vehicle and found it parked on the side of the road between Tekapo and Pukaki.
The driver, Stephen Hayden, appeared to be extremely intoxicated, he said.
New Zealand Police / Supplied / The-Timaru-Herald
The scene of the accident where Stephen Hayden and Nigel Freeman were killed on July 3, 2017 near Aoraki / Mt Cook.
Mark Hayden became aggressive and said “this is not going to happen” when Andrew tried to get Stephen Hayden to do a breath test.
He claimed that his cousin had not been driving and the driver had left, then became increasingly aggressive when Andrew said that Stephen Hayden would be arrested if he failed to comply.
Andrew went to ask for reinforcements and Hayden started his vehicle and fled at high speed, with Andrew on the search.
Hayden crossed the center line in a slight corner and collided head-on with a Toyota Hilux ute. An analysis of the accident scene found that the Highlander had been traveling between 160 km and 170 km in the moments before the accident.
Hayden and the ute’s driver, Freeman, were killed instantly.
Hayden’s blood alcohol level was 326 mg per 100 ml of blood, more than six times the legal limit of 50 mg.
Mark Hayden survived the accident and was taken to Timaru Hospital.
When interviewed by police, he said he had very little memory of the events that led to the accident.
In March he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The Crown said that although Hayden was not driving the vehicle, he encouraged his cousin to drink large amounts of alcohol and drive recklessly.
“[He] in fact, he actively participated in the events that led to the deaths. The final act of dissuading police from intervening and preventing Stephen Hayden from driving directly resulted in the deaths of Nigel Freeman and Stephen Hayden, “the Crown said.
Supplied / The-Press
Nigel Freeman was one of two people who died in an accident near Lake Pukaki on July 3, 2017.
Hayden’s defense attorney, Jonathan Eaton QC, denied that Hayden had encouraged his cousin to flee the police or that he had never attempted to prevent his cousin from driving recklessly. Eaton said that while Hayden acknowledges his poisoning, he never encouraged Stephen Hayden to flee the police and tried to discourage his cousin from driving so recklessly when driving from Tekapo.
A series of affidavits from Hayden’s family and friends submitted to court painted the image of a loving husband and father, and an active and supportive member of his community, whose actions on that day were completely at odds with the character he had demonstrated. all his life, Eaton said.
“Mark Hayden is very much a broken man, physically, mentally, and emotionally. He is full of guilt, remorse, and regret for the death of Mr. Freeman and the death of his cousin,” Eaton said.
Nigel Freeman’s son Gavin Freeman read his victim impact statement in court via the audio-visual link detailing how deeply his father’s death had affected him and the rest of his family.
“I wonder if he saw the other car, did he know what was about to happen? I wonder if he suffered. What was the last thing you thought about before you were killed? Was it about us, his family? I wonder why he had to die when he was so fit and healthy and had so much more to do in his life. Every day I ask myself these things. I miss him every day.
