Son left on road 'like a piece of litter'

"You drove off leaving my son like a piece of litter on the road. Leaving him there to be hit again by the next car, just like a piece of garbage."

Wes Fry was reading a victim impact statement in the Oamaru District Court yesterday at the sentencing of the man charged following the death of his son, Thomas Alec Fry (18), who was riding a motorcycle, at Richmond, North Otago, on May 13.

He described the actions of Richard Eion Gent (35), a Timaru truck driver who did not admit his involvement in the crash until about six weeks later, as "cold, callous and inhuman".

Gent was jailed for 26 months on charges of failing to render assistance after a crash and attempting to obstruct the course of justice.

He was sentenced to two months' imprisonment (concurrent) on a charge of careless driving causing the death of Mr Fry.

For failing to report an accident, he was convicted and discharged.

He was disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to pay reparation of $6850.

Harrowing victim impact statements were read by Mr Fry's father Wes, mother Ann, brother Hamish, sister Elizabeth and partner Hannah Willetts.

The visit by police to inform Mr and Mrs Fry of their son's death was "just the beginning of the nightmare and it's just gone on and on", Wes Fry said.

"The fact that he died is hard enough for me to understand, but the circumstances of his death make it unbearable.

"I don't know the man who killed my son, but I absolutely loathe him. For the life of me, I simply cannot understand why you just didn't stop.

"If you had stopped the truck, you could have protected my son. Dead or alive, he would have had some protection from the next car down the road. But that didn't happen because you drove off.

"Death is something that deserves respect, some dignity, reverence. You gave Tom none of those things and I can't get that out of my mind."

Elizabeth Fry was driving home after hearing of her brother's death when she was stopped at a roadblock.

She started sprinting and saw her brother's motorcycle and, when she was about 20m away, saw her brother.

She was tackled by a policeman about 5m from his "cold, wet, lifeless body lying in the middle of the road".

"I felt like I'd just been stabbed through the heart.

"That image is in my mind every single time I close my eyes and I know it's going to stay with me forever."

Looking directly at Gent, she said, "The toxic waste responsible for the death of my beautiful little brother is almost impossible to think about."

Tom Fry was a handsome, intelligent, admirable young man with a serious passion for life.

Losing her "baby brother" had destroyed her and she would hate Gent forever.