B.C. woman sentenced for ‘airborne’ crash that injured 4 teens in New Zealand

A woman from West Vancouver has been sentenced for her role in a New Zealand car crash that seriously injured four B.C. teens.

A woman from B.C.’s Lower Mainland has been sentenced for a crash that injured four Canadian teenagers in New Zealand last weekend.

West Vancouver resident Kelly Vanry, 57, pleaded guilty to four counts of careless driving causing injury and one additional count of careless driving in connection with the collision, local authorities have confirmed.

Vanry was transporting a group of youth field hockey players in a minivan when she crashed near the rural community of Taupo on Sunday.

She had attempted to pass another vehicle near a “left-hand bend, with less than 100 metres visibility,” and ended up colliding with an oncoming Jeep, said Sgt. Fane Troy with the New Zealand Police.

“The force of the impact caused the van to become airborne, landing backwards in a ditch across the road,” said Troy, in a statement.

Despite the severity of the crash, neither of the drivers were hurt.

Vanry was given a six-month driving ban and ordered to pay $1,000 to each victim for emotional harm, plus $1,500 to the driver of the Jeep, according to police.

Six other charges against her were withdrawn.

“Ms. Vanry has taken responsibility for her actions, which has allowed the judicial process to be expedited,” Troy said. “The crash, although serious, could have been so much worse if it were not for the seatbelts that everyone involved was wearing.”

The teenage victims suffered a range of injuries, including broken bones and organ damage, according to a statement of facts in the case. Authorities said each will need months of recovery.

One has already been flown back to Canada and another is expected to return this week, while two others remain in hospital.

The group was travelling with a Vancouver-based field hockey academy run by Olympian Rob Short. In a statement, the Rob Short Coaching Academy told CTV News it is “doing everything to provide the support needed to the girls and the families involved.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Andrew Johnson