Murray Wilson/Stuff
Laura Brown appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on Wednesday, where her application for a limited licence was granted. Judge Lance Rowe said he was satisfied not granting Brown’s limited licence application would lead to extreme or undue hardship. No further details were given in court. Outside court Brown confirmed the licence was so she could go to work, but she declined to comment further. At the time of the fatal crash she was a Waka Kotaki NZ Transport Agency employee. She was also driving alone, with no L plates displayed, in breach of the learner licence she held for nine years.
Harley-Jean Bell turned 1 in January. She is surrounded by reminders of her father, Lance. The pair were together for almost two years and Bell, after asking Jane’s father and sisters, was going to propose sometime around Father’s Day. He’d previously picked a family portrait shoot to pop the question, but Jane was sick, so the occasion passed. The gold engagement ring he’d bought, featuring tiny diamonds, is in Jane’s safekeeping, waiting to be passed to Harley-Jean when she turns 21. The young couple had plenty to look forward to. Bell had long wanted to be a father and, with Jane recovering from a cesarian section and appendicitis, he was full-on into the role.