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Last Friday, a judge dismissed an appeal from the driver responsible for the accident. Chinese citizen Liang Fang had appealed against his sentence in Invercargill High Court, claiming that a denied resignation without a conviction could affect his visa.
Judge Rachel Dunningham recognized in her decision the serious consequences that deportation would have. However, for “a single man with a family in China”, she did not see that the impact of returning to her country was “as great as in other cases”.
He said that Fang’s neglect of the important responsibility of driving a tour bus was relatively serious.
Fang was driving a bus and trailer operated by Awing Travel NZ Ltd carrying 23 Chinese tourists when it crashed in Wilson Bay, near Queenstown, on January 21.
The girl, who has legal deletion of her name, lost both hands, while another woman lost an arm as a result of the accident on Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd.
A source close to the family said the girl’s parents learned of the driver’s failed appeal through a WeChat group made up of people linked to the incident.
“The father acknowledges that he is aware, but does not want to comment,” the source said.
“The family is now back in China and they just want to move on with their lives. They want to look to the future instead of dwelling on the past.”
An INZ spokesperson said the family left New Zealand for China on July 5.
“The family did not request residency from INZ. INZ understands that a request for ministerial intervention was made,” the spokesperson said.
The girl’s mother vividly remembers the day of the accident, January 21. The Awing Travel NZ Ltd bus and trailer tipped over and skidded for about 40 meters after Fang lost control near Queenstown.
Twenty-three people were on board, including the driver, and 20 were treated for injuries by St John’s staff at Wilson Bay on Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd.
“(My daughter) was on the ground and I ran towards her. My mind went blank when I picked her up and noticed that she had no arms,” said the mother.
When the Herald of New Zealand visited the Auckland serviced apartment where the family was staying, the girl was afraid to leave her room.
The mother said her daughter’s confidence and sense of security were shattered and the girl, once outgoing, was now afraid of seeing people.
“(She) loves to dance, she has won many awards in dance competitions, now she cannot eat, dress or even clean herself after a visit to the bathroom,” she said.
“Dancing is the love of his life, and at that moment of the accident, everything is taken away from him,” he added.
“The repair money, I will gladly return every penny and shell out many more times, if (my daughter) can get her arms back.”
“While INZ empathizes with the family’s situation, there is no specific path to residency for people who have been injured as a result of an accident while in New Zealand.”
Driver Fang admitted the charges of negligent driving causing injury and was sentenced in June by Judge John Strettell in Queenstown District Court.
He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and disqualified from driving for nine months.
The girl’s father told the Herald at the time that the sentence was an insult.
“The pain and trauma we are going through is unimaginable. It is worse for (my daughter), but the whole family – me, my wife and even her grandparents – are living every day in pain,” he said.
“I feel like the New Zealand justice system has failed us. The reparation payment is an insult to the injury and the penalty the driver faces shows that there is no justice.”
