Invercargill husband heartbroken to not say goodbye to wife after crash – Stuff.co.nz

Leonard Bagley says waking from a coma to learn his wife had died was like someone taking his heart and breaking it.

It was incredibly painful to not say goodbye, he said.

Leonard, wife Emma and their two children were in the family car on a suburban Invercargill street when they were t-boned by a car travelling at 121kmh on December 7, 2018.

Taine Reupena Tata Bryn Edwards, 22, who was a passenger in the car that hit the Bagleys vehicle, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for being a party to manslaughter and concurrent 18-month sentences for each of three party to reckless driving charges when he appeared before Justice Cameron Mander in the High Court at Invercargill on Wednesday.

READ MORE:* Invercargill passenger guilty of party to manslaughter in fatal crash* Crown prosecutor says pair were 'driving dangerously for a rush'* Police officer heard car 'rocket past' his house before fatal crash in Invercargill

The Crown prosecutor read Leonard Bagleys victim impact statement, as he stood next to her.

I have lost the love of my life, and my children their mother, due to the selfish actions of someone else.

He felt it was a blatant disregard for human life, one he could not forgive.

His own injuries from the crash were extensive and included a fractured and dislocated spine and shoulders, a fractured pelvis and tailbone, ruptured diaphragm, collapsed lung and a large bleed into his chest cavity.

Dejay Rawiri Kane, 21, who was the driver of the vehicle, admitted to manslaughter and four charges of reckless driving and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail in 2019.

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The intersection at Newcastle and Clifton streets, Invercargill, where the serious crash happened in 2018.

Edwards was found guilty at trial in September this year.

During Edwards trial and Kanes sentencing, the courts heard both men were intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Justice Mander said Edwards as the passenger and Kane, as the driver, played chicken or Russian roulette as the car sped through give way signs before the crash.

Vehicular manslaughter involving alcohol, speed and dangerous driving was an all-too-common offence, Justice Mander said.

It was often young men who did not appear to appreciate the grave risk of mixing alcohol and motor vehicles, the judge said.

Robyn Edie/Stuff

Taine Reupena Tata Bryn Edwards at his sentencing in the High Court at Invercargill on Wednesday.

Edwards presence in the car was a persistent encouragement for Kane to drive the way he did, Justice Mander said.

The car went through a series of give way signs before it hit the Bagleys at the intersection of Clifton and Newcastle streets in Windsor, Invercargill.

The Russian roulette ended, almost inevitably, with the death of an innocent person travelling with the right of way down a connecting street, Justice Mander said.

Edwards lawyer, Fiona Guy Kidd, said not a day went by when he did not think about the Bagleys.

Edwards had offered to withdraw all the $12,000 in his KiwiSaver account as a reparation payment.

He had done a driving programme which exposed repeat drink, dangerous and disqualified drivers to confronting material, Guy Kidd said.

Stuff

The scene of a crash in Windsor, Invercargill, that claimed nurse Emma Bagleys life in December 2018.

Wednesday was the second time in two years that Emmas father, Bruce Duncan, stood in court and read a victim impact statement on behalf of his family.

His daughter and her husband made law-abiding decisions that night; Kane and Edwards did not, Duncan said.

Emma and Leonard were sober, licensed and doing the speed limit.

Some individuals continue to make very poor, dangerous choices, with scant regard for the consequences as a result, Duncan said.

Emma died in the critical care unit at Southland Hospital the day after the crash.

Duncan held his daughters hands, surrounded by Emmas colleagues.

To think, this could all have been so different. If only you had made a more responsible and law-abiding decision on the seventh of December 2018.

Justice Mander also disqualified Edwards from driving for three years and ordered a $12,000 emotional harm payment.

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Invercargill husband heartbroken to not say goodbye to wife after crash - Stuff.co.nz