A man whose driving killed two people and seriously injured three others has avoided a jail sentence.
James Cupit was sentenced in the Wellington District Court to seven months' home detention on Thursday.
Cupit had earlier been found guilty by a jury of two charges of dangerous driving causing death and three counts of dangerous driving causing injury.
Nathan Laurenson and Udo Fourie were killed in July 2009 when a car driven by Cupit, who was 22 at the time, crossed the centre line on Grays Road in Plimmerton, north of Wellington, and slammed into another car.
The three occupants of that car also suffered injuries.
One of those hurt, Philippa Jonassen, told the court her brain was seriously injured, she has vision problems and constant pain from a back injury.
Judge Mike Behrens said Cupit was driving at more 100km/h in an 80km/h zone in bad weather conditions.
The judge accepted that Cupit, who was 22 at the time, was remorseful. He disqualified him from driving for two years and ordered him to carry out 200 hours' community work.
The father of Udo Fourie, Johan Fourie, says he does not believe it would have been appropriate to jail Cupit and forgives him for taking his son's life.
Cupit's lawyer Paul Knowsley told the court crash is a lesson to others about the perils of breaking the speed limit.
