It was in a box of 32-year-old Christopher "Chipper" Narayan Blair’s favourite items that she clutched as she made a tearful statement before the High Court at Dunedin yesterday before the man’s killer was sentenced.
Luke Bradley Savigny (25) had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for five years, seven months.
The defendant, the court heard, had never held a driver’s licence and had used methamphetamine before the fatal March 21 crash outside Oamaru which flung the victim 15m from the site and almost split the car in two.
"Your driving record is appalling," Justice Jan-Marie Doogue said.
"You’re lucky not to have killed anyone else before now."
She imposed a minimum non-parole period of three years and imposed an eight-year driving ban on Savigny.
Mrs Blair told the court she was "truly devastated and heartbroken" by her loss.
She described the harrowing ordeal of identifying her son’s body as "our tears, our screams echoed through the morgue", and spoke of the impact the tragedy had had on Mr Blair’s 12-year-old son.
"Chris was no angel but he didn’t deserve to be killed in that way," Mrs Blair said.
Justice Doogue held a moment’s silence for Mr Blair.
"You inflicted a lifetime of pain and emptiness on [the Blair family]," she told Savigny.
"No parent should ever have to identify their child’s body."
The court heard the smash came only months after Savigny had been sentenced for similarly wild driving on the same stretch of road.
It is understood he told police on that occasion that the only way he would have stopped was if he had killed someone.
In December 2019, the defendant was sentenced to nine months’ supervision on a raft of driving offences.
But the rehabilitative sentence did nothing to deter him.
Just three days before killing his passenger, Savigny was stopped by police and forbidden from driving, the court heard yesterday.
On the day in question, however, he picked up Mr Blair from South Dunedin and they travelled to a North East Valley address.
After sharing a bottle of gin there was a confrontation with a woman there and the pair left in her Holden about 5.50am, travelling north at speed.
Savigny ploughed over road cones in a 30kmh zone on State Highway 1 at Waikouaiti, the court heard, overtaking other motorists and causing them to take evasive action.
The pair were later captured on CCTV refuelling at a service station in Palmerston.
As they continued north, Savigny overtook three vehicles, crossing double yellow lines in a 50kmh zone.
At 6.56am, police saw the defendant passing through Alma, weaving and crossing the centre line.
When they followed, Savigny increased his speed to 130kmh.
They abandoned the pursuit when they lost sight of the Holden, but a few minutes later they were confronted by the horrific crash scene.
The vehicle was split into two pieces at the intersection of Severn and Wansbeck Sts.
A serious crash investigation found Savigny hit speeds of 150kmh when he lost control, skidding over a footpath, clattering into a 50kmh speed limit sign and colliding with five trees.
Mr Blair died instantly.
Savigny was taken to hospital and a sample of his blood tested positive for class A and C drugs.
Counsel Anne Stevens QC told the court her client suffered a range of disorders including ADHD, anxiety and low intellect, which led to a lack of consequential thinking reflected in his criminal history.
She told the court her client had attended a restorative justice conference with the victim’s family, which had been "productive".
Justice Doogue noted Savigny had apologised to the family and resolved to change his ways.
Mrs Blair said the grief she felt for the loss of her son did not cease, it only changed.
"It’s the price of love," she said.
