• Arohanui Siakifilo’s bid for a non-custodial sentence was rejected after a fatal crash.
• Siakifilo, intoxicated and speeding, killed her sister and injured three others in May 2023.
• Judge Luke Radich sentenced her to three years' imprisonment, citing the seriousness of the offence.

A woman whose “bottomless brunch” Mother’s Day celebration resulted in tragedy when she hit another motorist head-on at 156km/h in a South Auckland neighbourhood has had her bid for a non-custodial sentence rejected.

Arohanui Ahimoka Siakifilo, 30, unintentionally killed her 25-year-old sister as a result of the May 2023 crash and seriously injured three others. The driver of the other car was unable to walk for months, confined to a wheelchair while serving as a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding.

The defendant wept this week as her lawyer cited her two young children — including one conceived after her arrest — as among the reasons Manukau District Court Judge Luke Radich should consider a sentence of home detention instead of prison.

Arohanui Siakifilo's bid for a non-custodial sentence was rejected. Photo / Michael Craig

But the judge was blunt at the outset of his sentencing remarks, noting the “very serious constellation of aggravating features” that made the case somewhat unique.

“I think it would be unkind of me to give you false hope in that regard...” he said. “There is no principled way this could result in anything other than a prison sentence. This was ... very much at the upper end of offending of this nature.”

‘Clear warning’ ignored

Siakifilo decided to drive home with two of her sisters and a friend as passengers about 7.20pm on the Friday before Mother’s Day, despite being intoxicated and on a restricted driver’s permit that didn’t allow her to have passengers.

The “bottomless brunch” — suggesting all-you-can-eat food and alcohol — “seemingly wore long into the afternoon”, Judge Radich noted. Siakifilo told police she decided to drive two of her sisters and a friend home despite her intoxication after she was unable to get the Uber app to work on her phone.

Her blood alcohol level would later be assessed as 172 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood — over three times the limit of 50 milligrams for those on restricted licences.

Siakifilo didn’t get far before attracting police attention. She was pulled over after officers noted her speeding along Great South Rd in Penrose.

“Police did not have time to detect the defendant’s exact speed,” the agreed summary of facts for the case states. “They caught up to the defendant’s vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on Portage Rd, Ōtāhuhu.

“Police advised the defendant that she had been stopped due to exceeding the speed limit. In explanation, the defendant stated that the back passenger’s daughter was crying at home and they needed to get home.”

Police issued an infringement notice for driving with passengers while on a restricted licence and for an expired warrant of fitness but allowed her to continue on her way.

It appears the officers didn’t notice her intoxication and did not give her a breath test, Judge Radich noted. But regardless, he said, “a clearer warning to her ... could not be envisaged”.

Just minutes later, after Siakifilo had continued on her way, she passed a crane parked at the intersection of Great South and Mangere roads. She was travelling at an estimated 156km/h in a 50km/h zone when she lost control of the vehicle while passing the crane, crossing the centre line and hitting another vehicle head-on.

It does not appear she slowed down before the crash, court documents state,

Her sister, Julie, was pronounced dead at the scene.

One person died and four were injured in the crash on Great South Rd, Ōtahuhu. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Judge Radich noted the area where the crash occurred was largely residential.

“Anybody familiar with that area would be astounded that somebody could get up to 156km/h in an area of that nature,” the judge commented. “To say there was a driving fault here would be a major understatement.

“She was ... exceeding the legal [alcohol] limit by three times just as she was exceeding the speed limit by three times. The speed was extraordinary given the circumstances and the nature of the area.”

‘Devastated, broken’

In addition to Siakifilo’s younger sister, her older sister and a friend were also seriously injured and required immediate surgery. Her surviving sister suffered a broken femur, broken left arm, broken jaw and lost her top front teeth. Her friend suffered a broken ankle, hand and clavicle and had internal bleeding.

The other driver, Emmanuelle Tekori, suffered the worst injuries of the survivors. She suffered fractures to her ribs, spine and pelvis, resulting in numbness to the entire left side of her body due to what she believes is nerve damage. She had two broken ankles, needed a skin graft on one knee and had pins put in her hip and toes.

“She also fractured both of her legs in different areas, and sustained a number of further injuries as a result of the collision,” court documents state. “She is currently wheelchair-bound and cannot stand or walk.”

But Tekori was able to walk of her own accord at the hearing this week as she sat in the courtroom gallery, wiping away tears as a prosecutor read aloud her written victim impact statement.

“I think, mentally, it was the toughest time for me,” she said of her recovery. “Even now my body isn’t fully capable of doing the physical activities I was always able to do.”

She recalled being a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding, still unable to walk.

“That really upset everyone seeing me that way,” she recalled, adding that she also used to be a talented volleyball player but is no longer physically able to pursue that passion. “It really has changed my entire life... but I’m grateful to be alive.”

Her statement was followed by a letter from the defendant’s father, which was also read aloud in court.

“I am truly and deeply sorry,” he said for his daughter, who he described as “devastated, traumatised and broken”.

“I can only imagine the pain, suffering and difficulties you have endured.”

He said his daughter was ready to accept her fate but asked the judge to consider mercy for the sake her and her children.

“She had heaps of potential and a bright future to look forward to,” he said. “She is a loving, kind and caring person to us ... and everyone she comes across in life.”

New mum Julie Siakifilo, 25, was celebrating what was to be her first Mother's Day when she died in a drink driving accident caused by her sister, Arohanui Siakifilo, in 2023.

The defendant was also supported in court by her sister’s husband, now a widower.

Victim Julie Siakifilo had given birth to her first child five months before her death in the crash, according to an Australia-based fundraiser started by her aunt.

“Her absence amongst us will be felt indefinitely as she was so loved,” her aunt said.

‘Emotional carnage’

Arohanui Siakifilo, also known as Aroha, faced up to 10 years imprisonment for one count of being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess blood alcohol causing death and up to five years imprisonment for three counts of causing bodily injury.

During a sentence indication hearing last year, the judge allowed a starting point of five years imprisonment followed by a 20% reduction for her guilty pleas. Any other reductions, if any, would have to be decided at sentencing, he said.

Defence lawyer Andrew Young, appearing for colleague John Wiles, sought 40% in additional reductions for factors including the impact on her children and rehabilitation efforts.

“Given the impact it will have on her family, given the weight and the guilt that bears on her for the rest of her life, given the genuine remorse, given her low risk of future offending ... she does ask the court to consider a non-custodial end sentence,” Young said.

Crown prosecutor Jacinda Bragg countered that Siakifilo should receive only 20% in additional discounts, which would not be enough to result in a sentence of under two years — at which point a judge can consider swapping out a custodial sentence. But even if it did get that low, she argued, the only way to address such egregious offending would be with a prison term.

The judge agreed.

“Ms Siakifilo is deeply remorseful, and I do not question that,” he said. “She will carry the weight of this for the rest of her life, and that is a significant punishment, quite obviously, and one that is not lost on me.”

Manukau District Court Judge Luke Radich. Photo / Michael Craig

But that doesn’t offset “the circumstances of the offending and the catastrophic consequences”, he said.

He allowed a 5% discount for the “significant” impact on her children and 15% for her remorse, rehabilitation efforts and previous good character — resulting in an end sentence of three years in prison.

He also ordered Siakifilo to pay the $2000 emotional reparation her family had offered.

Judge Radich praised the Siakifilo sisters’ father for his statement and offered condolences for the death of his other daughter. The defendant’s poor decisions that night, the judge noted, had caused “significant emotional carnage” to at least two families, including her own.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.