[ad_1]
Trust and bones were broken the day a group of students were injured in a trailer crash at a Horowhenua high school.
Four students at Horowhenua College were injured in an incident in April, where a vehicle pulling a trailer, which had students on it, rolled.
The driver, school dean Dylan Stuart Kiriona, 43, was discharged without conviction in the Levin District Court on Tuesday of two charges, careless driving and careless driving causing injury. Three other charges of careless driving causing injury were withdrawn.
But the mother of one of the students, whose name is suppressed, felt as if they had been guilt-tripped as victims.
READ MORE:
* Driver admits fault in crash which killed large number of lambs
* WorkSafe probes trailer ride injuries at school fundraiser
* Crash death of Taranaki mother turned family ‘upside down’, says daughter
She said in her victim impact statement, which has been provided to Stuff, trust was broken as a result of the crash because there had not been a great deal of accountability.
The statement said fingers had been pointed at the students on the trailer for leaning over and the family had not received a direct apology.
“These actions still frustrate us. You seemed cavalier about safety and you seemed cavalier about what had actually happened.
“You were in charge of the students’ safety that day, yet even after your poor choices lead to the crash, your concern seemed to be in downplaying it rather than getting the injured the care they needed.”
The student’s victim impact statement, provided to Stuff, said the students were told to get in the trailer for a fun ride and not given any safety instructions, except to hold on.
“I remember the trailer lent over to the left and I was flung out to the side. I blacked out momentarily and woke up screaming.”
The student broke their arm in the crash.
The woman’s children had been bullied by those who believed Kiriona was the victim.
“It has been isolating being too afraid to speak honestly in fear of further backlash,” she said,
The mother said they felt they had to fight to get through it and stand up for their whānau.
Defence lawyer Renee Bayer told the court Kiriona wanted to go through restorative justice.
“It’s something he does want to address for the relationship between him and the victim and the community. There is a lot of hurt for a lot of people.”
She said Kiriona had immediately offered to help the victims, he was a person of good character and well regarded in the community, was remorseful and had pleaded guilty, and had taken steps to make amends, including attending a school whānau hui.
The school completed an investigation which resulted in a number of new policies, while WorkSafe also investigated and were happy with the school’s process, Bayer said.
A conviction would have affected Kiriona’s role as a teacher, she said.
Judge Philip Recordon said there had been an acceptance of the damage to trust and confidence, as well as the injuries.
The family was concerned lessons hadn’t been learnt, so it was important they communicated, he said.
“Thankfully the injury to the pupils, while serious, were not life threatening. They could have been. The seriousness of what happened can’t be overstated.
“As the family have said, their was trust broken and they don’t feel like that’s been addressed properly.”
There was no element of criminal intent, but it was careless, Recordon said.
“It does mean [the family] feel like they have some responsibility for you being in court. That’s not how it should be. Charges were correctly laid and maintained.”
But Recordon said it was clear Kiriona was a person of good character, involved in many aspects of the community and submissions showed he was a good teacher.
[ad_2]