RSE worker fined for drink-drive crash in Motueka

It was raining heavily and Elvis Virambath was “significantly drunk” and speeding when he lost control of the workers’ van he was driving, rolled and hit a power pole.

His two passengers and orchard co-workers from Vanuatu, who were working in Motueka on the RSE scheme were flung from the van on impact. Neither was wearing a seatbelt.

One was left pinned under the van by his torso and head, and as emergency workers tried to free the trapped man, Virambath walked off.

The 38-year-old, who was due to leave the country on Wednesday on the expiry of his visa, has been dealt with “expediently” to avoid any burden on the New Zealand taxpayer, Judge Tony Snell said.

“There is no legitimate purpose to keep you here to serve a sentence, when you may well have received an electronically monitored sentence.”

Judge Snell noted it was significant punishment in itself that Virambath would no longer be able to return to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme when the earnings were what his family in Vanuatu had relied on.

He was fined $2000 and ordered to pay $1000 to the injured passenger, who was also Virambath’s cousin, for what Judge Snell called serious offending that was lucky not to have resulted in a worse outcome.

The swift sentencing followed Virambath’s appearance in the Nelson District Court on Monday to admit charges of driving while drunk and driving dangerously causing injury in Motueka on August 31 this year.

At about 10pm Virambath was driving a Toyota Hiace work van, south on Motueka's Quayle St.

A man was seated beside him, unrestrained in the front seat, and another was asleep in the middle row of seats behind, also not wearing a seatbelt.

All had been drinking, according to the summary of facts.

It was raining heavily, with thunder and lightning and the road was extremely wet.

Virambath drove up close behind another vehicle that was travelling at the 60km/h speed limit. He started “aggressively tailgating” and flashing his headlights repeatedly.

The driver in front was forced to slow down and pull over to let Virambath pass, before Virambath continued at speed along Quayle St and on to Wildman Ave.

The van was seen to start veering from side to side. The driver of a vehicle approaching saw what was happening and began to slow.

Virambath then “heavily over-corrected”, which caused the van to skid sideways, then roll several times and hit a power pole.

The oncoming vehicle was forced to take evasive action to avoid being hit by the “out-of-control” van.

The front-seat passenger was thrown from the van and received “minor cuts”. The passenger then walked home.

The passenger asleep in the middle row was thrown out the window on impact before the van landed on him and trapped him “by the left side of his torso and half his head”, the police said.

He was taken to hospital and treated for what the judge said was miraculously only injuries to his shoulder.

The victim had since returned to Vanuatu at the time his visa expired. Defence lawyer Ian Miller said he had contacted the victim, who confirmed the injuries had healed.

Virambath had been wearing a seatbelt and was found by police standing “dazed and confused” beside the van, where he was told to stay while efforts were made to free his trapped passenger.

However, he left the scene and was later found two kilometres away walking towards Motueka.

He was taken to hospital, where blood was taken and found to contain 222 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80mcg.

Virambath told police he remembered nothing of what had happened.

Judge Snell said in normal circumstances, where a custodial sentence was possible, he would have sought appropriate pre-sentence reports, but Virambath was due to leave the country on Wednesday and his visa was unlikely to be granted further.

Half of the $2000 fine was to be paid immediately and the second half when he was able to.

“Whether that happens is questionable,” Judge Snell said.

The total penalty including the victim harm payment was $3000. Virambath was disqualified from driving for two years on the lead charge of dangerous driving causing injury.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.