Aaron Templeton, 20, appeared before the High Court at Invercargill this morning where he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 20-year-old Jack Stephens and drink-driving causing injury to a 19-year-old man.
The facts of the case were revealed for the first time today and showed the string of poor decisions which led to the tragedy on February 15 last year.
Templeton and the two victims had spent the day crutching lambs (the process of removing wool from around a sheep's tail and hind legs to maintain hygiene) at his Quarry Hills home.
After completing the job at 3.20pm, the defendant celebrated with a couple of stubbies of beer and the trio planned a trip to the nearby Tokanui Tavern.
Templeton sent what was the first of several incriminating videos that day, telling an associate he was off to the pub and might be intoxicated later.
Once the group arrived, the defendant began drinking crate bottles of beer, while his friends started on rum RTDs.
About four hours after arriving, Templeton spoke to his mother, told her he was at the bar and would be home later.
She offered to pick the men up if they had been drinking.
Templeton said he would let her know.
Minutes later, the local police officer entered the tavern to speak to staff and patrons.
The duty manager noticed the behaviour of the group of young men change and quizzed them about their plans.
Templeton said his mother would pick them up.
A courtesy coach was also running throughout the evening, the court heard.
At 8pm, Templeton sent another video to a mate discussing the presence of the constable at the pub and saying he was unsure about whether to drive home or wait.
Ten minutes later, though, he had made up his mind.
Templeton sent a video message in which he showed the police vehicle in the car park then turned the camera on himself to launch into a foul-mouthed rant.
"F... you, c.... You can go get f.....," he said,
"I’m going to go back roads and you can get f......"
A Crown summary said Templeton was slurring his words and CCTV showed him walking with "a staggered gait".
After leaving the bar, the defendant coordinated his friends’ exit and met them in his 1997 Toyota Hilux towards the highway.
He had consumed nearly 15 standard drinks by this point.
During the journey Mr Stephens recorded a video, yelling "we’re running from the cops" as Templeton could be seen crossing the centre line.
There was no police pursuit in progress, the court heard.
The driver veered into loose gravel on the left of the road prompting Mr Stephens to joke about wearing seatbelts, but the teen in the back was genuinely concerned and did so.
A couple of kilometres later, Templeton approached a right-hand bend, with a 75kmh speed advisory, at up to 127kmh.
He again strayed left, overcorrected and lost control of the ute.
It rolled and flipped into an adjacent paddock, coming to a rest on its wheels.
Templeton was ejected and ended up unconscious in a ditch, while Mr Stephens landed face down in the field.
The third man remained in the vehicle and later extricated himself.
Members of the public applied first aid until emergency services arrived but Mr Stephens died at the scene.
Templeton and the teenager were choppered to hospital.
More than six hours later, a blood sample from the defendant showed an alcohol level of 130mg but court documents said it would have been about 189mg at the time of the crash.
The legal limit for adults is 50mg.
Because Templeton was 19 at the time, on a restricted licence, he was prohibited from driving with any alcohol in his system.
Justice Cameron Mander allowed the defendant bail until his sentencing in June but said that was not an indication of the penalty he may face.
