Unlicensed driver killed cousin, paralysed partner in horror Napier crash

A man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his cousin and injuring seven others – including making his partner a paraplegic – in a crash in Napier last year.

Nine people were in the car Mithias​ Oshae​ Te Pou was driving on October 29, 2022, in Napier.

He pleaded guilty on Friday at the High Court in Napier to manslaughter of his cousin Harmony Te Pou, 20.

Mithias Te Pou wiped his eyes as he entered his pleas to that charge and reckless driving causing injury to Harmony Te Pou’s partner Elijah Watene, 19, and six others including his partner Autumn McGirven who is now paraplegic. The couple have three young children.

He also admitted failing to stop for flashing blue and red lights, or a siren.

A prosecution summary of what happened that night said Te Pou had hosted a Halloween party. His learner’s driving licence was suspended due to demerit points.

One of his legs was in a full length cast and he needed crutches to walk.

During the party he drank alcohol, smoked methamphetamine and cannabis, and snorted the drug ecstasy. Several people told him not to drive and tried to get his vehicle keys off him, but he refused to hand them over.

About 11.30pm he left the party with eight others in his Honda CRV to go nightclubbing in the city.

As well as the people properly seated in the vehicle, one person lay across two others in the rear seat and three more sat unrestrained in the boot area.

The passengers included his partner, three of his cousins and his younger sister. It wasn’t long before several of them started telling him to slow down but the summary said he continued to drive aggressively.

At one point he slammed the brakes on and off, jolting the passengers to and fro, before accelerating heavily between two police cars crossing the intersection in front of him. The driver of the second police car slammed on the brakes to avoid a crash.

Although it looked as if he was going to stop for the police car’s signal he then accelerated away heavily in the centre of Napier where many people were walking and in vehicles.

He was estimated to reach speeds of up to 120kph in a 50kph area, and police did not follow.

The summary said he drove through a red light, and on Shakespeare Rd he crossed on to the wrong side of the road to pass a taxi, narrowly avoiding an on-coming car.

All the passengers were screaming at him to stop, but he ignored them.

He lost control as the back of the vehicle swayed from side to side and his vehicle hit the back of a parked car.

His vehicle tipped from side to side before rolling and landing on the driver’s side. It slid uphill for more than 8m. Harmony Te Pou received head injuries from which she died at the scene.

The vehicle stopped when it hit an Uber that recorded the crash on a dashboard-mounted camera.

The other two in the boot were unconscious and critically injured. Two more were unconscious, still strapped in with seat belts. Te Pou and another man were able to get out of the vehicle and Te Pou was arrested at the scene.

He told police, “I was the driver”.

His breath alcohol level was 527. The legal limit is 250 and results in an infringement notice for which you could be fined and given demerit points. Above the 400 level you could be fined, jailed, and disqualified from driving.

The summary said Elijah Watene had spine and brain injuries. He spent a month in hospital before undergoing rehabilitation. He still suffers memory loss and does not remember that his girlfriend died in the crash.

Te Pou’s partner, Autumn McGirven, was paralysed from the waist down. After two weeks in hospital, then rehabilitation, she has returned home.

Other passengers suffered broken ribs, cuts and bruises and one had a fractured finger.

Te Pou was remanded in custody for sentencing scheduled for early December.