Cannabis crash victim’s mum lives with horror five years on

By June 19, 2019 Recent News

NZ Herald 19 June 2019
Family First Comment: Lawyers prosecuting Lewis in 2016 said his decision to take marijuana before getting behind the wheel had “the direct consequence” of taking another life, local media reported. His defence lawyer also admitted Lewis’ driving ability had been impaired by the amount of marijuana in his blood and that he had battled drug addiction since being exposed to cannabis as a child. Semb feared legalising cannabis would lead to more people using the drug and driving while high. She doubted the law would be enough to deter them from driving while impaired.

A Kiwi mum who continually relives the moment her son was killed in a crash by a drug-affected driver says she cannot support legalising cannabis.

“Ask any parent who has lost a child to a cannabis-impaired driver if they would agree to it being legalised,” Barbara Semb said in a recent letter to the editor published in the Herald.

Her son, Chris Semb, died aged 51 in Queensland, Australia, in 2014 when an oncoming van crossed the centreline near Bundaberg and hit his motorbike.

He was thrown up to 60m down the road by the force of the collision.
READ MORE: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12241051 (behind paywall)

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