A young woman who was lying unconscious at the exit of the Dan Murphy's carpark in North Wollongong was left with severe pelvic injuries after a Mount Ousley man drove over her in his two tonne ute while on the phone to his mother.
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Spiros Lagapodos, 25, was found guilty of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm in Wollongong Local Court today after his involvement in an incident late in the evening of Saturday January 22, 2022.
That night, at 11.27pm, a 21-year-old woman left the North Wollongong Hotel and later tripped while crossing Stafford Street, near the exit of the Dan Murphy's carpark.
Falling heavily, the woman lost consciousness and lay on the road.
About 15 minutes later, Lagapodos driving in his Mazda BT 50 ute turned off Flinders Street into the Dan Murphy's carpark to answer a call from his mother. Lagapodos stopped in the carpark for two minutes before driving out of the carpark into Stafford Street.
CCTV captured Lagapodos with his mobile phone in his hand as he exited the carpark.
The same CCTV captured Lagapodos driving up and over the young woman, who was lying semi-conscious on the road.
According to documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court this caused the woman "immense and immediate pain" and brought her back to consciousness.
Lagapodos stopped the car 10 metres away before getting out and walking between where the woman was lying and his ute for two minutes.
At this time, another person drove through the carpark and saw Lagapodos standing over the woman. The unknown driver called the police.
As emergency services were on their way, Lagapodos picked up the woman and moved her to the footpath on the side of the road.
Only then, five minutes after running her over, did Lagapodos call an ambulance.
On the phone to the triple-zero operator, Lagapodos shared some, but not all of what had just occurred.
"I've driven down a ramp and seen a young lady on the floor and she's saying her back hurts," court documents reveal Lagapodos as saying.
Over the phone, the woman can be heard screaming out in the background about how much pain she was in. Hearing police arrive, Lagapodos hung up.
Once police spoke with Lagapodos, he told them the woman was already hurt when he drove out of the carpark, omitting his role in her injuries.
Lagapodos left the scene just after midnight.
Paramedics took the woman to Wollongong Hospital, where initial reports showed that staff believed her injuries were not caused by a fall.
Doctors became increasingly concerned about the woman and her injuries and the next morning contacted police.
Police spoke to the woman and returned to the scene on Monday to secure CCTV. That evening, police arrived at Lagapodos's Mount Ousley address where they saw the car that matched the CCTV footage parked on the street.
Lagapodos told police he was driving the car that night and stopped to help, telling police he did not believe he ran over the woman.
Police seized the ute and towed it to a police holding yard.
As medical staff became more aware of the woman's injuries, on January 26 the woman was moved to St George Hospital where she underwent surgery for serious pelvic fractures. The woman also suffered a large cut to the side of her head, as well as bruising, scratches and swelling. Doctors also found a blood clot that had formed in her bladder.
A report from Dr Andrew Ham tendered to the court revealed that the woman's injuries were "serious" and that a plate affixed with screws had to be used as part of her surgery.
The woman was discharged from hospital on January 31.
In Wollongong Local Court on Friday, Lagapodos's lawyer Matthew Ward said his client conceded he was driving the car that ran over the woman and that he was using a phone at the time, but argued the injuries did not constitute grievous bodily harm.
"In no way do we seek to minimise or downplay the injuries, but it is a matter of degree," Mr Ward said.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Nathan Smith said Dr Ham's report was inconclusive about whether the woman would suffer "permanent disfigurement" but noted the doctor had stated the injuries were clearly "serious".
Magistrate Michael Ong said the fact that the woman required what amounted to "invasive" surgery satisfied the threshold for grievous bodily harm, and found Lagapodos guilty.
In sentencing Lagapodos, Mr Ong noted the man's contrition and remorse but said he was negligent in using a mobile phone while driving.
"The obligation on you as a driver is to be aware of circumstances around you and 99 per cent of time that will be the normal things but sometimes there is going to be something that is unusual or unexpected that is why your attention needs to be focused," Mr Ong said.
Mr Ong convicted Lagapodos and sentenced him to a 24 month conditional release order. Lagapodos will have his licence suspended for the next 12 months.
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