Chikira Nelson fronts court for causing the death of friend

A Melbourne mother returning from an emotionally charged visit to her friend’s grave was killed after her speeding, boozed-up mate, crashed the car.

Crash victim Ainslee Haenga is being described as a bubbly and outgoing person who loved to sing and was very fond of her brothers.

A grieving woman who lost her daughter in a crash caused by her speeding, boozed up friend says she doesn’t care what sentence the offender gets “because that’s not going to bring my daughter back”.

Ainslee Haenga was the front seat passenger in a ute being driven by her friend Chikira Nelson along Westwood Dr in Ravenhall on the evening of March 9, 2023 when the latter lost control of the vehicle which rolled multiple times and struck poles and a boulder.

Ms Haenga, 26, a mother of one, was not wearing the seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

Nelson, who was doing between 124km/h and 132km/h in a temporary 40km/h zone and was over the limit, spent two weeks in hospital.

The unemployed 37-year-old from Burnside pleaded guilty in the County Court on Wednesday to one charge of culpable driving causing death.

Chikira Nelson leaves the County Court in Melbourne after pleading guilty to causing the death of her friend Ainslee Haenga in a horrific crash at Ravenhall in March 2023.

Nelson told police in an interview five weeks after the crash that on the day of the fatality, Ms Haenga asked her to drive to the grave of a friend who had recently died.

After paying their respects, the women were on their way back home when the crash happened.

Ms Haenga’s mother Francine White and brothers Kaelym White and Hireri Moetu travelled from Sydney for the court proceeding and spoke to the Herald Sun outside court.

She described her daughter as “bubbly, outgoing and creative” who loved to sing and was very fond of her brothers.

Ms White thanked Nelson for owning up to her actions and said she has no ill-feelings towards her.

“I have forgiven her. I am not really fussed about the sentence she gets because that’s not going to bring my daughter back.

“What I hope to gain from whatever sentence the court hands down is that a lesson is learnt…to just think about your actions in that if you’re drinking, don’t drink and drive,” she said.

Ms White said Nelson agreed to meet her prior to Wednesday’s plea and she took her to her daughter’s grave in Altona.

“I miss her everyday. I wake up in disbelief and to a certain degree I am still in denial about what happened because as a parent, you don’t want to let them go.

“But every day gets easier. I am learning to live with it and I have to be strong for her siblings and most importantly, for my granddaughter, because she’s the one who’s going to suffer the most.

“I lost my daughter but my granddaughter lost her mother.”

Ainslee Haenga's mother Francine White with sons Kaelym White, left and Hireri Moetu travelled from Sydney to attend County Court proceedings in Melbourne where the killer driver Chikira Nelson pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death.

Ms Haenga’s nine-year-old daughter Kyra-Leigh Haenga lives with Ms White’s mother in Altona.

According to the prosecution summary read out in court, a paramedic and mechanic were among motorists who observed Nelson’s fast and erratic driving minutes before the crash.

Paramedic Leanore Tucker observed Ms Waenga with a can in her hand and her foot out of the ute’s window at a traffic light.

Ryan Vo, a 21-year-old P-plater, swerved to the left after he noticed the back of the ute swing out towards him before he saw the vehicle rolling.

Firefighters had to extricate Nelson from the ute.

Nelson will front court again for a plea hearing on October 10.