Rolleston (20) was sentenced in the Opotiki District Court today to 200 hours' community work, 12 months' supervision and disqualified for driving for a year for the crash which left him and his friend seriously injured last July.
Judge Louis Bidois summed up his sentencing by saying: "Everyone is entitled to make one mistake in their life, you have made yours."
Before his sentencing, the 'Boy' and 'Pork Pie' actor looked nervous but was supported by a contingent of family and friends.
Rolleston sustained serious leg and brain injuries in the July 20 crash on the outskirts of Opotiki. His passenger, one of his best friends, required spinal surgery after sustaining four fractured vertebrae.
Seated next to his counsel, Ron Mansfield, Rolleston nodded when being addressed by Judge Bidois during the 30-minute sentencing.
Mansfield told the court today's appearance was as much a celebration of the continued life of two young men as it was an acknowledgment of Rolleston's involvement in the accident.
"He knows that night he drove like an idiot. He drove with excessive speed for the road and the conditions. But to be frank, he's hopeless at being an idiot.
"He's had little practice in his life to date at being an idiot."
Mansfield, a senior criminal litgator with more than 25 years' experience, spoke in glowing terms about his client. "He's one of the nicest young men I have ever had the pleasure of acting for. He is ordinarily a polite, courteous, humble young man."
Rolleston entered his guilty plea to a charge of dangerous driving causing injury at the Auckland District Court in March.
In a statement at the time, the then 19-year-old said he always intended to admit his actions as he was "genuinely regretful" that they caused the accident.
