A Nelson man with a long history of driving convictions has been jailed for causing the death of a man in a crash near Nelson.
Norman Mostyn Teece, 42, was sentenced to three years jail for dangerous driving causing death and disqualified from driving for five years in the Nelson District Court on Friday.
Teece crashed into a truck after he failed to give way at an Upper Moutere Highway intersection in May last year.
His passenger Richard MacKay, 39, died and Teece suffered serious head injuries.
He told police in October he could not remember the crash or the two years prior, Fairfax reported.
Teece had 41 previous driving convictions from 1986 to 2001, and had lost his licence twice since then.
Sentencing Judge Tony Zohrab said Teece had a terrible prior history and had placed people in danger again and again.
"You have for a long, long period of time been waiting to injure or kill somebody, and how you have not done it before now I don't know."
Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore said Teece had suffered neurological problems since the crash and often lapsed into violent and aggressive behaviour.
He asked Judge Zohrab to take an humanitarian approach to sentencing.
NZN