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A 32-year-old driver was jailed for 22 months and disqualified from driving for five years after his Tesla hit and killed a 19-year-old Nepalese woman in Yuen Long in 2024.
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Ernest Au Yeung Shiu-hong pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death over the November 7, 2024, crash on Castle Peak Road near Yuen Long.
Deputy District Judge Bernard Chung Wai-keung said the victim, Pun Lisa, had crossed the road while the pedestrian light was red, but drivers approaching a pedestrian crossing should still take pedestrians' safety into account.
The court heard Au Yeung was driving above the 50-km/h speed limit when the traffic light ahead turned from green to amber. He accelerated through the amber light and hit Pun as she was crossing the road.
Pun was thrown into the air and found unconscious with no pulse or breathing. She was later pronounced dead in hospital.
A traffic accident reconstruction found that the crash could have been avoided if Au Yeung had been travelling at the speed limit and braked within 0.9 seconds after seeing Pun.
Chung said Au Yeung had accelerated through the amber light "for his own convenience" and told a probation officer that he was rushing to work in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The judge described his driving as highly dangerous, with the level of dangerous driving falling between medium and high.
Au Yeung had seven previous traffic-related records, including one for careless driving and five for speeding, but no criminal record.
The court also heard that Au Yeung developed post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder after the crash.
Chung took his condition into account in sentencing him to 22 months in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for five years.
