Student pleads guilty in fatal NZ crash

A U.S. student pleaded guilty to careless driving charges in New Zealand in a crash that killed three other U.S. students, the country's Justice Ministry said. The ministry said Stephen Houseman, 20, Massapequa, N.Y., pleaded guilty in Auckland District Court Tuesday and was barred from driving in New Zealand for six months, the Boston Globe reported. Houseman, a Boston University undergraduate student, was driving a rental van near Turangi, New Zealand, May 12 when he hit some gravel, lost control of the vehicle, which then rolled. Killed were Boston University student Austin Brashears, 21, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Daniela Lekhno, 20, Manalapan, N.J.; and Roch Jauberty, 21, of Paris, who grew up in California, the Globe said. Houseman and three other students were injured.