[ad_1]
Supplied
Nga Roimata Beattie-Rihari, center, pictured with her siblings, was 18 years old and six months pregnant when she died in a drunk driving accident caused by Ioakimi Sale.
A man who drove drunk during New Zealand’s Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown, killing a teenage girl and her unborn baby, was sent to jail.
Ioakimi Sale, 43, of Moerewa in Northland, appeared in Kaikohe District Court on Thursday. He was sentenced to four years and six months in jail and disqualified from driving for six years.
On April 19, he collided with a parked car and killed 18-year-old Nga Roimata Beattie-Rihari, also from Moerewa, and her unborn baby, Pryncess Diana.
Beattie-Rihari worked in a hotel and was also a mentor at the Moerewa Youth Center. She was described as fun, popular, and passionate about helping others.
READ MORE:
* Man Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving Death of Pregnant Northland Teen
* Teen killed after suspected drunk driver crashes into parked car in Northland
* More charges filed after the death of a Northland woman in an alleged drunk driving accident.
* The small Northland town of Moerewa rallies around the stabbing of the victim’s family
In November, Sale pleaded guilty to three counts related to the accident.
They drove under the influence of alcohol causing death, they did not stop after an accident and they disobeyed a medical health officer by not isolating themselves at home.
Supplied
Nga Roimata Beattie-Rihari, left, pictured with her brothers, is described as a beautiful personality with a matching smile.
He had more than double the legal limit on driving under the influence and had six prior convictions for driving under the influence, as well as other driving offenses.
The court heard Thursday how Sale’s actions greatly affected the Beattie-Rihari family, and they mourn the loss of two lives.
Her mother, Sarah Rihari, said she felt “helpless, empty, broken and sad” and struggles to get out of bed every day.
Denise Piper / Things
Nga Roimata Beattie-Rihari’s friends and family created this image to symbolize her and her unborn baby, as “Queen Roimata and Princess Diana” in heaven. The image was used on T-shirts in court.
“You took my daughter and granddaughter from us that day, just because you chose to get in that vehicle and drive drunk,” Rihari told Sale in her victim impact statement.
“Your decisions have had a ripple effect on our whānau.”
Rihari said that Beattie-Rihari had a passion for helping others, often inviting her friends to stay when they were having a difficult time.
“She was in her prime. He had everything going for him. She woke up every morning singing. “
Beattie-Rihari was eager to become a mother, and the accident meant her whakapapa line was broken, Rihari said.
