Tourist admits fatal crash charge
A German tourist has admitted his careless driving caused the death of a Leeston woman in a crash near Springston on February 23.
Daniel Muller, 26, appeared before Judge Gary MacAskill in the Christchurch District Court and pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving on Goulds Road causing the death of mother-of-two Stephanie Anne Ellis, 54.
Police allege a vehicle carrying two German men went through a stop sign before crashing into the driver’s side door of Ellis’ Toyota Corolla. The German men were not injured.
The court was told that Muller was a German national who had been in New Zealand since December 28 and had an airline ticket to return to Germany on March 26.
Judge MacAskill remanded him at large for a restorative justice conference to be held, and for a reparation report to be prepared including his ability to pay expenses and emotional harm.
The sentencing will take place on March 10. There were health considerations that would warrant consideration at the sentencing, the court was told.
The accident happened at the Goulds Road-Leeston Road intersection, near Springston, south of Christchurch, at 10.10am on February 23.
Ellis, who had recently left her job of eight years as a teacher assistant at Hillmorton High School’s Upland Unit, was freed from the wreckage of her car by firefighters, but later died at the scene.
Category: News
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