Sacha Catharina Macfarlane

Sacha Catharina Macfarlane (December 29, 1963 — November 29, 1984), born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was a 20-year old woman when she got killed November 29, 1984, in a controversial head-on car crash in Wellington with Chilean diplomat Luis Felipe Lopez. At the time, her tragic death caused an international diplomatic incident when New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange publicly questioned the reach of diplomatic immunity, stating "There is very simply indeed no principal in law which gives any citizen holding a diplomatic passport carte blanche to do whatever he or she wills." Through international appeals by her father Kester Macfarlane, the Chilean Government apologised to the family of Sacha and held a memorial service at Old St. Paul's, Wellington, on April 6, 2010, 25 years after her death.
Traffic collision
Sacha Macfarlane was just one month away from her 21 birthday when she died on November 29, 1984. She was a passenger in a BMW heading along the Old Hutt Road towards Thorndon, Wellington. Another BMW driven by Mr Lopez crossed the centreline and ploughed head-first into Miss Macfarlane's car. Nina Macfarlane, the surviving daughter of Kester Macfarlane, witnessed the traffic collision from a car behind her sister. Mr. Lopez was not breath-tested at the time, because of his diplomatic status. However, during the inquest into Miss Macfarlane's death, the Coroner's Court was told that Mr Lopez had been drinking whisky at a bar before driving. Mr. Lopez was whisked out of New Zealand by regime within days without facing justice, leaving the family and friends of Sacha Macfarlane struggling to cope with the 20-year-old's internationally publicised death.
Apology from Chilean Government to family
A letter of apology was written to Mr. Macfarlane on December 21, 2009 from Mr. Luis Lillo, ambassador of Chile, stating that "at that time the country was under the rule of a military dictatorship that wasn't precisely known for its respect for human rights, and while the current government cannot take responsibility for the actions caused by one person who at the time was a Chilean diplomat, I can assure you that, if Chile had been then under a fully democratic government, as it is now, things would have been handled in a very different way, and much more would have been done for Mr Lopez to assume his responsibilities for the accident in which Sacha lost her life."
The apology was sparked by a poem called A message for Mr Lopez written by Mr. Macfarlane's partner, Carol Cromie, expressing how the actions of Mr Lopez had wrecked the life of her partner and his family. The poem was sent to Chile's Foreign Affairs Ministry then forwarded to ambassador Luis Lillo at the Chilean Embassy in Wellington, which responded by offering to hold a memorial service. The apology was officially conveyed during that service at Old St. Paul's, Wellington, on April 6, 2010, 25 years after Sacha's death. The service included Miss Macfarlane's favourite song, Wild Horses, by the Rolling Stones.

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