Andrew Jayden Mercer, 32, appeared in the High Court at Dunedin this morning after he earlier admitted the manslaughter of Robert Douglas Ralston and refusing to undertake a compulsory impairment test.
On March 29, after an argument, the defendant was driving aggressively while the victim was perched on the back of the attached trailer.
After Mercer turned a corner, causing the trailer to swing out and a tyre to blow, Ralston jumped off the trailer and hit the ground, causing ultimately fatal head injuries.
This morning Justice Lisa Preston sentenced Mercer to two years and ten months’ imprisonment.
Through teary eyes the victim's mother told the court how the loss of her only child had left her heartbroken.
“Rob was a very caring guy, he had problems at times, but he loved his family, his dogs, his friends,” she said.
“He never got to live his whole life. As a parent I'm supposed to go before him. I am heartbroken.”
The incident made her angry, and she described the pain she felt in deciding to turn off her son’s life support.
“Andrew needs to be made accountable. . . no one has the right to take someone else's life. Every life is precious, Rob’s life was precious,” she said.
“I miss him every day.”
Mr Ralston’s aunty said no sentence could bring her nephew back, but she hoped his memory would be honoured with justice.
“Rob didn't need to die, this wasn't an accident, it didn't need to happen. Rob should be here today,” she said.
“Our lives are shattered.”
Mercer sobbed as the victim’s family read their statements and through most of the sentencing.
The court heard that on March 29, Mercer had been at a Brockville address with Mr Ralston when an argument erupted.
The defendant, who only holds a learner licence, got into his Toyota and drove past the victim who then walked into the middle of the road.
Mercer responded by driving at Mr Ralston before swerving to avoid a collision.
The victim threw a stick at the car as he left the scene, the court heard.
Hours later, Mercer returned to the Turnbull St address, this time towing a trailer of firewood.
The verbal spat continued and Mr Ralston threw a block of wood, smashing one of the car’s windows.
As the defendant pulled away, court documents detailed how the victim climbed onto the draw bar and hauled himself onto the cage.
Mercer, initially unaware his partner was clinging on, turned into Brockville Rd and where a tyre on the trailer burst.
After about 100m, Mr Ralston jumped off and sustained serious head injuries as he hit the road.
Mercer was described as “very upset” at the scene, and immediately stopped to render assistance to his injured partner.
Court documents noted he passed a breath-alcohol test but there were concerns he was intoxicated from drug use.
While he refused to take an impairment test, he later admitted to using methamphetamine an hour before the incident.
Mr Ralston was placed on life support but succumbed to his injuries the following month.
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith highlighted the defendant’s "lengthy history” of driving infringements and convictions.
“Plainly, the driving [in this case] was seriously aggressive,” Mr Smith said.
The Crown said imprisonment was the only appropriate outcome in the circumstances.
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said Mercer had “deep regret” for the offending and argued a sentence of home detention should be imposed.
“From the time of the offending. . . he has expressed considerable amounts of distress and also remorse,” Ms Saunderson-Warner said.
She highlighted the defendant’s reduced cognitive ability caused by a traumatic head injury he suffered when he was hit by a car at age 10.
Mrs Saunderson-Warner said a sentence of imprisonment would be disproportionately severe for Mercer, however the reasons why were suppressed.
As well as the sentence of imprisonment, Justice Preston also disqualified Mercer from driving for two years.
