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One of the victims of the Chinese tour bus accident on the outskirts of Rotorua last year described how the loss of a daughter he called his “whole world”, his wife and father also robbed a house that he no longer can face the return.
In a victim impact statement read in Rotorua District Court by Crown Prosecutor Amanda Gordon at the sentencing of Junwei Zhang, who had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of reckless driving resulting in death and eight counts of careless driving that caused injury, the pain felt by survivors. the accident was exposed.
“I will not be able to recover from the emotional trauma I suffered,” he said.
He said his 20-year-old wife was his soul mate, and that since birth he had not spent a single day apart from their five-year-old daughter.
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“We have a perfect family, my daughter is a treasure for me. . . every day, hugging her after work. She was my whole world.
“She was like the continuation of my life, I was motivated to work hard because of her.”
“This incident has taken away my right to be a father, my right to be a husband and my right to be a son. Now I just face sadness, loneliness and confusion. I won’t be able to go home.
“I don’t know how I can start my life over.”
Another passenger on the tour bus described the emotional impact of losing her husband.
“I have lost all reason to live and have often thought about suicide,” he said.
Gordon read a series of statements that referred to physical injuries, emotional pain, flashbacks and financial difficulties in the wake of the fatal accident on September 4 of last year.
“Great mental and psychological pain” is how one describes his life now.
One simply said that “the author must be severely punished by law.”
Another victim complained of medical treatment in New Zealand after the accident.
“I did not receive adequate medical treatment in New Zealand at the time, I returned to China and I am still in the process of recovery.”
As the statements were read, Zhang, wearing a face mask and sitting between his lawyer and his translator, kept his hands clasped and his eyes lowered.
The translator did not translate the victim’s impact statements for Zhang.
The police summary of the events revealed that Zhang, who was not speeding, lost control of the bus after a strong crosswind caused the rear wheels to skid.
At that time the weather conditions were bad with strong winds, clouds and rain.
“When the back of the bus began to skid, the defendant overcorrected, causing the back of the bus to veer into the opposite lane and turn 180 degrees,” the summary reads.
“As the bus veered off the road, the rear passengers jerked to the right, causing five passengers to be thrown out of the right-hand rear windows.
“The bus continued to slide down a small bench where it rolled sideways on top of the five passengers.”
In addition to the five deaths, other passengers were left with injuries that included broken ribs, spinal fractures, neck fractures and pelvic fractures.
Zhang’s attorney, Laura Owen, said her client wanted to express her sincere condolences and “acknowledge the lives lost.”
“Accept that he couldn’t drive well. . . and he is to blame. “
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Five people died after the tour bus ran off the road and rolled down State Highway 5 in Ngatira, near Rotorua, on September 4 last year.
He said his client had no criminal record, no driving record of any kind and that his regret was genuine.
He also said that any conviction could lead to his deportation.
“This puts his family in danger. Her nine-year-old son has lived in New Zealand longer than he has lived in China. “
Judge Marie McKenzie began her comments by noting the “heartbreaking” nature of the victim’s impact statements and said the accident had had “fatal and catastrophic consequences.”
He also said that as a professional driver, Zhang should have a higher duty of care and that his carelessness would be treated as “relatively high.”
“He should have increased his vigilance in terms of driving,” he said.
“A tough message is required to remind those who drive in a professional capacity that a higher standard is expected.”
Judge McKenzie later sentenced Zhang to four and a half months of house arrest and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.
He was also ordered to make a repair payment of $ 13,000 through installments of $ 70 per week.
“He will drive more carefully in the future,” he told Zhang.
The site of the fatal accident was visited the next day by Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi, who laid flowers at the site.
She said Stuff At the time, she had been “traumatized and saddened” by what she described as a tragic incident.
