A Waitara family has been devastated by the needless death of 19-year-old Wiremu Thompson, who was killed by a drunk driver last year, a Taranaki detective says.
Wiremu Thompson Photo: Supplied
A weeping Kylee Denise Wallace was sentenced in the New Plymouth District Court today to two years and five months' jail for causing Mr Thompson's death.
She hit him on State Highway 3 between Waitara and Bell Block as he walked home in the early hours of the morning in February 2014.
Wallace, who has two previous drink-drive convictions, admitted drinking eight RTDs, smoking cannabis and taking ecstasy before driving.
But Detective Bryon Reid said there was nothing the courts could really do to help the family.
"They're just really sad for the loss of their boy," he said.
"Nothing's going to ever change that for them. Every time they drive past where it happened in Waitara, it's a memory every day."
Kylee Wallace Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
