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Source: ONE News -
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A driver whose truck ran over and killed a senior police officer has been ordered to pay his victim's family $2,000 "emotional" reparation and banned from driving for nine months.
Desmond Wilson, 45, of Porirua appeared for sentence in the Wellington District Court after earlier being found guilty of causing the death of Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald through careless driving.
Fitzgerald, a road safety expert, was knocked from his bicycle
by Wilson's truck and was crushed under its rear wheels at the
intersection of Hutt Rd and The Esplanade in Petone in June last
year.
In a
reserved decision on September 30, Judge Tom
Broadmore said he was satisfied that Wilson had diverted his
attention from the road and that Fitzgerald was well able to be
seen.
Judge Broadmore's decision followed a three-day trial in Lower Hutt District Court in August.
In court on Friday, Wilson nodded as the sentence was read out and later told ONE News that he was definitely glad the case was over.
Wilson's lawyer Phil Calver says his client is suffering from depression and has lost his job.
Wilson has found it difficult to move on from the accident, and has been diagnosed with depression, he says.
"He has been constantly consumed by the trauma and tragedy. He constantly relives ... the feeling of the trailer wheels bumping over Mr Fitzgerald," he says.
Police will not comment on the sentence except to say they were also extremely pleased it was all over.
Fitzgerald's widow was not at the court, but in a victim impact statement said her husband's death had left a void in her life.
