A 16-year-old New Zealander whose reckless use of speed put his girlfriend in hospital has realised that drink driving is a bad idea.
Rae Rae (son of John and Puna Rae, if that helps) initially claimed he would drink and drive again, albeit only on his own, following the alcohol-fuelled high-speed chase with police which ended when he wrapped his car around a lamppost and it caught on fire.
Rae had two boxes of beer in him the day of the chase, and three other teenage passengers in the car, including his sister and his girlfriend Anita Matagi. Matagi, who was badly injured in the wreck, now stands to lose a leg. Reports say Rae's sister was also hurt, while he managed to escape largely uninjured.
Rae appears to have become something of a local celebrity following the accident, appearing as a guest on TV talk shows and radio programmes.
While to begin with he was claiming "I would do it again" on National Radio, Rae's appearance on New Zealand station TV3 showed a more repentant side to his character. "Sorry, I'm very sorry, I apologise," he said on the hit show Campbell Live. "I learnt my lesson and I won't do it again."
"Every time someone drinks and drives, they put people's lives and their cheap car insurance policies at risk," said cheap car insurance advisor Mike Page, spokesman for the motor insurance experts at Hoot.
"I'm glad Rae Rae has come to realise drink driving is wrong," he added, "but I'm concerned by his apparent celebrity status. Drunks shouldn't be held up on TV as examples to us all."