[ad_1]
A widow says it is “ridiculous” that a man with six prior convictions was out on bail when he fatally collided with her husband while high on methamphetamine.
James Harrison Solvander was sentenced to five years and five months in prison and disqualified from driving indefinitely when he appeared in Christchurch District Court on Friday for the accident that killed Clint Hoeben in North Canterbury on April 2.
Hoeben, 48, was biking down Oxford Rd near Rangiora with his 14-year-old daughter when Solvander crashed into them. Hoeben died at the scene, while Tara received extensive grazing on her legs and arms.
At the time, the 33-year-old was out on bail for a number of other crimes. Defense attorney Steve Hembrow said Solvander’s life “had been in chaos for a long time,” with six prior convictions for driving under the influence or refusing to provide a blood sample.
READ MORE:
* The driver was affected by drugs and was carrying firearms when he killed the cyclist
* Driver charged with drug driving after North Canterbury cyclist’s death
* Suspected Fatal Van Driver Appears in Court on Theft Charges
On October 27 of last year, Solvander crashed his Subaru into a stopped car in Christchurch, causing nearly $ 10,000 in damage. Blood tests showed that he had methamphetamine, lorazepam, and THC in his system.
On January 3, police officers spoke to him while he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle at a fuel station at 2 a.m. When police searched the vehicle, they found zip-lock bags containing cannabis, methamphetamine pipes, a digital scale, $ 375 in cash, and a small amount of methamphetamine in his car. Solvander was arrested and later released on bail.
On March 19, he lost control of another Subaru on Buckleys Rd, stepped onto a sidewalk and struck a sign before stopping in a grassy area.
supplied
Clint Hoeben died while riding a bicycle with his daughter Tara in Fernside, North Canterbury, on April 2.
Solvander left the crash site, but police found him nearby, not far away. Officers found cannabis and live ammunition in his pocket, as well as cannabis and a methamphetamine pipe in the car.
Solvander was arrested and again released on bail.
Two weeks later, the fatal accident occurred on Oxford Rd.
Hoeben’s wife, Charmaine Hoeben, said Stuff Solvander was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
“They should have done their job in the first place, then my husband would still be alive.
“I don’t understand how many opportunities a person can have. At what point do you look at the system and wait? This guy could be a threat. There’s no point in crying wolf now, it’s too late, my husband is dead. “
He felt “absolute anger” towards Solvander.
A blood test found that Solvander had methamphetamine and diazepam in his system at the time.
Police found a green tin box containing a handgun and 27 rounds of 22-caliber ammunition in the tall grass next to where Solvander’s vehicle stopped after the accident. His DNA was found on the trigger of the gun.
Crown prosecutor Aaron Harvey said the accident could not be described as an accident.
“[Solvander] he knew the risk of what he was doing. He has a terrible drunk driving record and frankly, he doesn’t seem to get it. “
Supplied
Clint Hoeben was killed while biking with his daughter in Fernside, North Canterbury on Thursday.
Along with charges of accident, driving drugs causing death and driving drugs causing injury, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday for the above incidents. The charges included illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, careless use of a motor vehicle, and possession of cannabis, methamphetamine, a controlled drug and methamphetamine pipes.
Judge Tom Gilbert said it was clear that Solvander was “a tragedy waiting to happen.”
He accepted that Solvander was upset for causing the death of a good man, but it was too late for remorse.
“You have devastated the lives of many people.”
Hoeben said the sentence was “ridiculous.”
“I am very offended because it is all he has after all he has done.”
The grass at her North Canterbury property has not been mowed for six months since her husband’s death, as he was the only one who knew how to use the ride-on mower, she said.
“They are the simple things in life. There are things that must be done so that he is the key person to do it, and he is not here.
“Everybody wants to help, everybody is offering a hand, but at the end of the day you can only take a limited amount and then you have to learn to make adjustments to cope with yourself and that’s probably the hardest.”
After 24 years of marriage, sitting on the couch watching television alone was “scary and lonely,” Hoeben said.
“I have no interest in doing the things that I would do because I don’t want to do it alone,” she said.
“My children don’t want to go anywhere, they don’t want to do anything because it brings back too many memories, it just reminds them that their dad is not there.
