Judge overturns sentence, conviction in Koonawarra pushbike crash

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was driving his Mitsubishi Canter truck on Gilba Road on the evening of October 12, 2014, when the young boy rode his pushbike directly into the path of the vehicle.

The pair collided and the child was flung from the bike onto the roadway, leaving him with significant, life-changing injuries.

However, rather than remain at the scene, the man left residents to render First Aid to the seriously injured boy in order to drive his own distressed son – a passenger in the truck who witnessed the collision – the short distance to their home.

He left his licence with a witness, saying he had always intended to go back to the scene, but never did, admitting he fell into a state of shock.

“Were you trying to evade your responsibilities by going home?” his lawyer asked him in court.

“No, not at all, I was just getting my son away [from the scene].” 

Police arrested the man at his house later that evening and charged him with failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm.

The man was jailed for a minimum of six months in Port Kembla Local Court in January, with the magistrate describing the factual circumstances as “appalling”.

“You had a legal obligation to do what you could, not to mention a moral obligation. Most decent people would have stuck around and tried to help,” he said.

However, NSW District Court judge Paul Conlon not only overturned the man’s jail sentence on Thursday, but wiped the conviction from his record, saying the incident had been a terrible tragedy.

“I’m satisfied that given the rather unusual factual circumstances in this matter, it should be dismissed [without recording a conviction],” he said.

“This is not the case of a driver panicking and leaving the scene.”