Diabetic gets suspended sentence for unintentional harm causing death

A 76-year-old New Zealander who was charged with one offence of unintentional harm causing death has been sentenced to seven months imprisonment, which will be suspended for 18 months.

The defendant, Frederick Peter Hoyle pleaded guilty and was convicted for the offence which was contrary to Section 108(c) of the Penal Code Act [CAP 135].

In 2016 Hoyle drove a Hyundai truck off the road at Unity Park, Santo and ran over three women who were resting in the shade.

One of the women died on the scene from multiple serious injuries she sustained to the head and body including a skull fracture, a macerated left side skull and abdominal distension.

Her two surviving companions were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and admitted for treatment for less serious bodily injuries they sustained in the incident.

The defendant was also taken to the hospital where he was given some sweets. According to the court the defendant is a long term Type 1 diabetic sufferer diagnosed in 1988 and currently on a self-medicated dosage of daily injections comprising short-acting insulin 3 times a day and one daily dose of long-acting insulin taken before meals.

The defendant also suffers from “blood pressure” hypertension which he controls with anti-hypertension and diuretic medication.

Medical reports and defendant himself reveled that he was not feeling well and was likely not conscious of what happened.

“There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that immediately prior to the incident the defendant suffered a severe hypoglycemic episode which quickly and progressively led to a loss of orientation, co-ordination, and consciousness as evidenced by the description of eye-witnesses to the incident including a taxi driver who describes what he saw of the defendant in the following graphic terms,” said Supreme Court Judge, Daniel Fatiaki.

However, Justice Fatiaki pointed out that low blood sugar is not something that the defendant is totally unaware of or inexperienced with as his caution statement clearly reveals.

“What’s more it is not an external condition that happens suddenly and unexpectedly. In your case, defence counsel’s written submissions records instances of “fleeting recalls” and even an awareness of unusual engine revving very close to Unity Park where the incident occurred,” Fatiaki told the defendant during sentencing.

“A reasonable man in that situation would at least suspect that there was something amiss and would have immediately stopped his vehicle. You did not, and, although it is unknown whether your vehicle has a manual or automatic transmission the fact is your vehicle continued for some distance even after you claim to have lost consciousness.

“Frederick Peter Hoyle I am mindful that nothing I say or do today and no sentence that I impose on you will bring back the life of Veronica Tangaga and that is a heavy burden that you must personally bear for the rest of your life knowing that by your negligence a human life was tragically and prematurely lost,” Fatiaki told the defendant.

Fatiaki handed a starting sentence at 15 months imprisonment which was reduced by four months for Hoyle’s plea of guilty and deducted four months for mitigating factors, making an end sentence of (15 – 8) = 7 months imprisonment which is ordered to be fully suspended for a period of 18 months.

In addition the Court ordered that the defendant is to serve under a Supervision Order for the operational period of the suspended sentence namely 18 months with the following two special conditions;

(1) That he provide to the court a medical report every 3 months from a public hospital of for blood sugar readings; and

“(2) That he refrain from driving a motor vehicle for a period of 12 months with immediate effect”.