A 41-year-old overseas national who pleaded guilty to causing a crash which injured five people in Te Anau will be sentenced next month.
Michel Alix Gerard Leroux (41), of Brussels, Belgium, was driving on the wrong side of the road when his Toyota Highlander collided head on with an oncoming vehicle on the Te Anau-Milford Highway on December 8.
Six people, including Leroux, were airlifted to Dunedin Hospital with minor to serious injuries.
Leroux appeared before Judge Michael Turner in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to five charges of aggravated careless driving causing injury.
Leroux and his family, who arrived in New Zealand for a holiday on December 1, were travelling from Te Anau to Milford for a day trip at the time of the accident, the court heard.
Leroux was negotiating a right-hand bend, when his vehicle crossed the centre line and collided with an oncoming car with two occupants.
Both cars swerved in the same direction in an attempt to avoid the collision.
Leroux, who was assisted by a French interpreter in court, asked for his case to be dealt with yesterday, but Judge Turner told him the matter could not be dealt with until next year.
Leroux will appear for sentencing on January 13.
The charges were serious, with each carrying a maximum penalty of three years' jail, Judge Turner said.
There needed to be considerable thought given to the sentence and restorative justice needed to be completed.
‘‘This type of offending has become far too common, particularly in the Otago and Southland area,'' Judge Turner said.
‘‘Deterrence may need to be given greater effect for offending of this type.''
Leroux had planned to return to Belgium at the end of the month, but would instead be in New Zealand until his sentencing, with the surrendering of his passport one of the conditions of his bail.
The other condition is that he does not drive.
One of the victims in the oncoming vehicle suffered a broken back in the crash and would be unable to sit up for three months from the date it occurred, Judge Turner said.
The other occupant in the vehicle also suffered broken bones and faced a rehabilitation of up to a year.
Leroux was travelling with his partner and two daughters, aged 6 and 10.
The 6-year-old suffered a cracked pelvis and a fractured arm, while the 10-year-old suffered severe bruising.
Leroux said he could pay $10,000 in reparation to the victims and had arranged to borrow a further $5000.
