The mother of a young British tourist killed in a crash during a dream trip to New Zealand has turned to social media to help find the woman who was at his side during his final moments.
Joseph Snode, 26, died in
The mother of a young British tourist killed in a crash during a dream trip to New Zealand has turned to social media to help find the woman who was at his side during his final moments.
Joseph Snode, 26, died in January 2024 after the car he was a passenger in crashed into a wall on the Otira Highway near the tiny settlement of Jacksons.
The driver of the car had obtained her learner’s licence just 79 days earlier.
Dante Aorangi, 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving causing death and was sentenced to three months’ community detention, ordered to pay Snode’s family $5000 at $20 a week and disqualified from driving for a year.
Over the weekend, Snode’s mother, Elaine, who has previously spoken to the Herald about the tragedy, appealed on Facebook for help finding a woman who was with her son when he died.
“Bit of a long shot, but I’m trying to find a wonderful lady who stayed with my son Joseph when he was killed in a car crash outside the Jackson Historic Tavern on 28th January 2024,” she posted.
“I believe she was driving along the road shortly after it happened.
“The police said she stayed with Joseph the whole time, until emergency services came.
“She has no idea how much we appreciated that she was with him in his final moments. The past two and a half years have been a painful blur, but I feel I would like to contact her if possible.
“Sadly, I have no name ... she may not be from NZ but thought this would be a start.”
The post was shared more than 300 times, and Elaine Snode later confirmed she had made contact with the “beautiful lady”.
“Wow, I woke up to over 4000 responses,” she updated.
“I can not express how much all your love and support means to us. We live in the UK and feel a world away from NZ, but today I feel so much closer.
“Joseph really enjoyed his short time in New Zealand and we as a family hope to visit one day, to see the things he saw and those he didn’t get to see.
“We like to think he is still wandering in New Zealand with his tent and camera. Thank you all for your love and messages.”
After the Herald published details of the killer driver’s sentence, Elaine Snode spoke about her son.
“As you can imagine, Joseph being killed has completely changed our lives and brought a darkness to our future,” she said.
“On January 28 2024, our world imploded and will never be the same. We struggle each day to face it without Joseph.
“He was such a light in our family and to his many friends. He was living his dream, he’d fallen in love and made plans for his future. He had everything to live for, and so many people miss him.”
Court documents released to the Herald reveal that Aorangi was issued a learner’s licence on November 10, 2023.
On the day of the crash, she left Karamea on the West Coast about 9am. She was driving. Her stepmother and another relative were passengers.
Aorangi was heading to Lyttelton, in Christchurch.
About 20 minutes out of Greymouth, she saw Snode hitchhiking and offered him a ride.
About 3.35pm, she approached the historic tavern at Jacksons.
Aorangi was “negotiating a very slight right curve in the road, but failed to follow the slight curvature”.
Her left wheels drifted into loose gravel on the side of the road.
She overcorrected, causing the vehicle to rotate and slide across both lanes and into a stone wall outside the historic Jackson Tavern.
Snode died at the scene.
Aorangi told police she could not remember the crash.
“The curve where this all happened was a relatively mild curve, and there were no weather or other factors at play which seem to be able to explain this loss of control,” said Judge David Ruth, who sentenced Aorangi in the Christchurch District Court.
“It seems that there will not be any explanation as to how this happened … how this all happened remains something of a mystery.
“Apart from the obvious fact that your control of this vehicle was lost, there is nothing else that assists me to know just where the fault in this driving exercise can really be sheeted home to.
“What is obvious, of course, is the catastrophic outcome to the victim here.”
A pre-sentence report stated Aorangi was remorseful and had expressed how devastated she felt and that she could not comprehend what Snode’s family were going through.
She said she would “do anything to change the outcome” and acknowledged that no sentence handed down to her “could ever be remotely equivalent to the loss of a life”.
Aorangi was facing up to three months in prison for her offending.
But after considering all of the information before him about Aorangi, including a recent ADHD diagnosis, Judge Ruth sentenced her to three months’ community detention.
Aorangi initially sought a discharge without conviction but abandoned the application before sentencing.
The Snode family were “relieved” Aorangi pleaded guilty, sparing them the ordeal of a trial, but felt the discharge application “belittled what had happened to Joseph”.
Elaine Snode and her husband attended the sentencing via video call.
“During the sentencing, we were mortified to learn that Dante had been stopped by police in October 2024 … for driving a car without L plates or a supervisor and whilst using her phone,” she said.
“How could she show so little respect or remorse after causing Joseph’s death a few months earlier?
“To say we were angry and upset is an understatement. It proved she had no respect for Joseph, us, herself or anyone else.”
Elaine Snode said sentencing was “extremely stressful and painful”.
“We were horrified to find out the maximum she was given was three months’ community detention.
“As a family, we decided that although we and all those who knew Joseph thought he deserved more, we would accept it and try to move on. We all make mistakes, and we hoped that Dante had learned that her actions have consequences and that she was remorseful for what had happened.”
Soon after, the British Coroner’s officer contacted the Snodes to tell them Aorangi had appealed her sentence.
Elaine Snode said it felt like the offender was “twisting the knife” and making the family’s journey “as painful as possible”.
“Thankfully … her case was dismissed at the appeal hearing. All she had achieved was to upset us.”
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz.