An Albion Park Rail “lunatic” has been jailed for at least six months after admitting responsibility for a drug-induced, high-speed car crash at Broken Hill that injured an eight-year-old child and left her mother fighting for life.
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Lionel Anthony Gaudie, a professional truck driver, was under the influence of cannabis and driving his V8 Holden Commodore at an estimated speed of 235km/hr on the evening of June 9, 2014 when he collided with an oncoming vehicle after crossing to the wrong side of Silverton Road.
The other vehicle spun but remained upright, however Gaudie’s car flipped on its roof, skidded and rolled several times until finally coming to a rest about 200 metres away. Gaudie and the child received relatively minor injuries and were able to free themselves from the wreck.
The girl’s mother had to be cut out of the vehicle. She was taken to Broken Hill Hospital with a litany of serious injuries including fractures to six of her vertebrae, a shattered pelvis and a broken rib, ankle and shoulder blade. She was later flown to Adelaide for specialist treatment.
When interviewed by police, Gaudie said he thought his speed was about 150km/hr. Forensic police calculated Gaudie’s actual speed to be around 235km/hr. A blood test revealed he had cannabis in his system.
Gaudie was charged with aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and driving with an illicit drug in his system. He failed to front court in Broken Hill in July 2015 and remained on the run from police until October last year, when he was found living in the Illawarra.
In sentencing Gaudie to full-time jail on Friday, Acting Judge Paul Conlon rejected his description of his driving that day as a “momentary lapse of judgement and a stupid mistake”.
“It seems hardly a week goes by that someone doesn’t cause their vehicle to cross to the incorrect side of the road causing loss of life,” he said.
“These [crashes] are often incorrectly described as motor vehicle ‘accidents’. They are not. They are criminal activity.
“It’s sheer luck everyone didn’t lose their lives. He was driving like a lunatic.”