An Australian man has pleaded guilty to reduced charges over the fatal crash that claimed the life of Fijian Arvind “Ronald” Kumar near Auckland Airport last year.
According to the New Zealand Herald, 37-year-old Melbourne resident Michael Rockafella admitted guilt to lesser charges after originally being charged with manslaughter.
Mr Kumar, 45, was driving his wife to Auckland Airport at about 4am on July 30 last year so she could travel to Fiji to attend her aunt’s funeral when the crash occurred.
Court documents released publicly for the first time reveal Rockafella had spent the early hours of the morning at SkyCity Casino before driving a rental ute towards his airport hotel at high speed.
Authorities say he was about eight times over the high-risk threshold for methamphetamine intoxication, almost twice the legal alcohol limit, and also had traces of cannabis and a sedative in his system.
Police said Rockafella initially told investigators he had consumed only two whiskey and cola drinks.
CCTV footage showed he had already run a red light shortly after arriving in Auckland. After leaving the casino at 3.39am, his driving became increasingly dangerous.
The New Zealand Herald reports he was clocked travelling at 142km/h in a 100km/h zone on State Highway 20 and was seen weaving aggressively through traffic, including forcing his vehicle into a narrow gap between a moving car and a light truck.
When traffic was diverted from a closed section of the motorway, Rockafella allegedly continued driving erratically, nearly colliding with another vehicle and travelling in a bicycle lane before the fatal crash.
