The father of one of five teens killed in a crash near Timaru, at Washdyke, has criticised the early release of the driver responsible for his son's death.

Tyreese Fleming, now 21, was on a restricted licence and had been drinking. Although sentenced in June last year to two-and-a-half years in prison, he walked free yesterday.

He'll live in Christchurch, with conditions including not entering Timaru and Temuka.

Javarney Wayne Drummond, 15, Niko William Hill, 15, Jack “Jacko” Wallace, 16, Joseff “Joey” McCarthy, 16, and Andrew Goodger, 15, were all killed when the Nissan Bluebird they were travelling in - driven by Fleming - smashed into a concrete power pole on August 6 2021. 

The impact was so severe, it sliced the car in half. 

Stephen Drummond, the father of Javarney, said he felt his hands were tied on the matter and blamed "the police system". 

"He only served less than three months for each kid, basically," he told Heather Du Plessis-Allan Drive. 

"It's not that good when you look at it from the parent's perspective. And other listeners can take whatever opinion they want but they have kids they can put to bed, I haven't."

Fleming’s lawyer told the board that the offender would have “good external support” on release and had “worked very hard throughout his prison time with respect to facing stressors and developing coping mechanisms to deal with this”. 

Fleming also spoke to the board, telling them he found the sessions with the prison psychologist “helpful in assessing his high-risk situations and how to manage these”. 

He said that once settled in Christchurch he was willing to complete any programmes the board directed to assist with his reintegration. 

He also had employment available and said he was “appreciative” of that. 

Drummond was asked what the sentence meant for Fleming, he said the driver whose actions killed his son was still considered serving a full sentence due to being required to wear an ankle bracelet.

"The system is about the living, not the dead," he said. 

"He's not allowed to go back [to Timaru] for another couple of years...I don't know the full story but at the end of the day it will be so he can't associate with the families, he's been barred from being around parents or family members."

When asked how he was coming to terms with the parole board's decision, Drummond said he was trying not to think about the decision too much. 

However, the father said the experience of trying to move on from the loss of his son was a challenging one to navigate. 

"One minute your kid is next to you and the next you're burying him because of somebody else's stupidity," he said. 

"The last two years of my life has been hard work, I'm a bit stressed out and everything keeps popping up, I'm doing alright but it's not a life that you enjoy living after going through the circumstances."

The board imposed a number of conditions on Fleming which will remain in place for six months past his statutory release date in December 2024 - the official date his prison sentenced would have ended had he not been granted parole. 

Conditions in place until early 2024 include: 

• Fleming will be subject to a curfew from 9pm to 6am daily unless in an emergency, to work or attend programmes with the direct written permission of his Probation officer 
• Once the curfew expires he must reside at an address approved in writing by a Probation officer 
• He must submit to electronic monitoring in order to monitor his compliance with his curfew and whereabouts 

Until December 2024 Fleming must adhere to the following conditions: 

• He is banned from entering the Timaru and Temuka districts and the Eastern suburb of Christchurch without direct written permission from his Probation officer 
• He must not possess, use, or consume alcohol, controlled drugs or psychoactive substances 
• He must attend alcohol and drug and psychological assessments and attend, participate in and complete any treatment, programmes or counselling directed by his Probation officer 
• He must not have contact or otherwise associate, with any victim of his offending without prior written permission from his Probation officer 
• And, he must not drive, be in possession of, or have an interest in a motor vehicle without prior written approval