By Charlotte Tonkin
The man found guilty of careless driving, which killed New Zealand's top traffic police officer, has been sentenced at the Wellington District Court.
Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald was knocked off his bike and under the wheels of a large truck and trailer rig last year.
Flowers still mark where Mr Fitzgerald was knocked off his bike and run over by a 12 metre container truck, as he cycled home last June.
Through his lawyer, the man responsible, Desmond Wilson says he's still consumed by the traumatic event.
“He constantly, sir, relives the feeling of the trailer wheel bumping over Mr Fitzgerald,” said defence lawyer Bill Calver.
Judge Tom Broadmore sentenced the former truck driver to pay Mr Fitzgerald's widow $2,000 dollars and disqualified him from driving for nine months, for careless driving causing death.
He said the decision was not easy to make.
“Sentencing in cases like yours is challenging and painful for everyone...even the judge,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald was for years the public face of police road safety campaigns, it was his job to lead the police road safety efforts.
Senior sergeant Steve Harwood, of the Lower Hutt Police, says the incident has weighed heavily on the community.
“The loss of Steve Fitzgerald has been a tragedy from the moment this carelessness happened, until now the family still grieves for him,” he says.
Since the fatal accident improvements have been made to the fateful road.
A bypass for pedestrians and cyclists is expected to be completed by Christmas, which means cyclists won't have to use the roundabout.
In court, Judge Broadmore stressed that the case highlights the need for all drivers to be vigilant.
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