A meth-affected driver who crashed into two vehicles at Picton, leaving two other people with life-changing injuries, has had his sentence reduced on appeal.
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In June last year, District Court Judge Andrew Colefax sentenced Shane Robert Stanton to four and a half years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years, after he pleaded guilty to two charges of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm while under the influence of a prohibited drug.
But the Court of Criminal Appeal found this sentence was "manifestly excessive" and cut his sentence to three years and four months, with a minimum term of imprisonment of two years and three months.
About 6.30am on May 8, 2018 Stanton was driving along Picton Road with a passenger when his vehicle veered onto the wrong side of the road and crashed into the rear driver side of an oncoming vehicle.
Stanton's vehicle continued on the wrong side of the road and collided head-on with a second vehicle.
The occupants of the first vehicle were uninjured, but Stanton, his male passenger and the 25-year-old female driver of the second vehicle were all seriously injured.
The passenger suffered fractures to his back and tears to his colon and bowel, while Stanton's injuries rendered him unable to work for six months.
The woman driving the second vehicle was in a medically induced coma for two days, and her parents and partner feared she would die.
She suffered scarring and damage to her bowel, which left her with a gastric condition, and had to undergo numerous surgeries.
A blood test revealed Stanton had methamphetamine in his system.
The original sentencing judge, Judge Colefax, rejected claims Stanton had passively inhaled the drug and found that the offender's moral culpability was high.
But he noted Stanton had no prior convictions and reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.
In his appeal, Stanton's lawyer argued that Judge Colefax had made factual errors in finding that he had a "very significant" amount of meth in his blood, and that he was "significantly affected" by the drug, but the Court of Criminal Appeal judges - Justices Thomas Beech-Jones, Ian Harrison and Richard Cavanagh - rejected this, given the expert evidence the sentencing judge heard.
A second ground of appeal, related to an alleged sentencing guideline failure, was also rejected.
But the appeal judges did find that there were grounds to appeal on the basis that the sentence was manifestly excessive.
Judge Colefax had specified a sentence of two years and four months on the charge regarding Stanton's passenger, and three years and seven months for the charge relating to the other driver.
The Court of Criminal Appeal said the individual sentences for each of the charges was too high, and although the total sentence included overlap between the two, it "reflected more than the totality of criminality involved".
Stanton will now become eligible for parole in September next year.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
