Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Mother 'stunned' over driving death charge

Updated at 12:51 pm on 4 March 2010

A mother has pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of her teenage son after crashing her van into the Whanganui River.

Silva Natana Horton, 13, died after becoming trapped in the submerged vehicle in November last year.

His father, Stacy Horton, arrived soon after the crash but was only able to save his wife, Vanessa.

She pleaded guilty in the Whanganui District Court on Thursday to careless driving causing death and been directed to go through a process of restorative justice before sentence.

Mr Horton says the couple is struggling to cope with the loss of their son and were stunned to learn of the police charge.

Mr Horton says it was a freak accident and he hopes the judge will see he and his wife are living their own life sentence over the loss.

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