A 30‑year‑old man has been jailed for 4 years by the Suva High Court for manslaughter, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and drunk driving.
Ratu Semi Kabakaba Degei who had pleaded guilty has also been disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Degei lost control of his vehicle on the morning of 24th August last year at Kings Road in Nakasi and drove onto the footpath killing one person and seriously injuring the other.
The previous night Degei was attending the funeral of a relative and then drank kava and alcohol before driving home without any sleep or rest.
On the way home Degei lost control of the vehicle and drove onto the footpath before hitting two innocent pedestrians.
In his sentence High Court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar told the man that because of his actions a widowed mother will never see her son again and a young child will now grow up without a father.
A 32-year-old single father passed away in the accident while 26-year-old woman sustained injuries to her head, elbow and leg.
The woman also broke up her relationship with her partner because she did not want to be a burden. She is still receiving orthopaedic treatment to fully recover.
Justice Goundar has not fixed a non‑parole period as the prospect of rehabilitation is high.
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