'Changed his life forever': Teen sentenced for crash that killed Bellambi boy

That was how a Children's Court magistrate described the fatal Towradgi crash that left a boy holding his dead friend in his arms before dawn on Tuesday, October 4 after the car they were in spun out and slammed into a traffic light pole.

The driver, a 17-year-old at the time, was sentenced in Port Kembla Children's Court on Friday, May 24, for dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing death, cause bodily harm by misconduct and driving while never being licensed.

Magistrate David Williams said the sentence he would impose came after a "terrible tragedy" and that the family of the boy who died would be experiencing "unimaginable" grief.

"It is a case that highlights the terrible, terrible consequences of young people who should not be in a car driving," Mr Williams said.

"This court sees every week more young people driving dangerously and putting lives at risk, and this case is the inevitable consequence."

On the evening of Monday, October 3, 2022, a 12-year-old boy was in the backseat of a car with his 14-year-old friend, with the older boy's 17-year-old friend driving.

This boy had never qualified to drive, and had a chequered past that involved significant deprivation, trauma and abuse, leading him to be no stranger to the youth justice system.

He had also previously been involved in a serious crash, although was not the driver in that case.

Mr Williams said the now young man had already dealt with obstacles in his life that many people would never have to struggle with.

"He has had things in his life that he needed to cope with that most people in the community can scarcely imagine."

As the trio were heading north on Memorial Drive, travelling at between 95 and 105 kilometres per hour in an 80 zone behind another car who they knew, the other car swerved suddenly at the intersection with Towradgi Road.

This led the 17-year-old driver to lose control and at 1.36am collided with the traffic light pole on the pedestrian island in the northeast part of the intersection.

It is believed that the force of the impact killed the 12-year-old boy instantly.

The sound of the crash was so loud that police officers at the Corrimal Police Station 200 metres away heard the bang, and raced to the scene.

The boys had already left in the other car, taking their deceased friend with them to an address on Tucker Avenue, Balgownie. There, they called emergency services, who treated the injured.

The driver later handed himself into police in Goulburn days later.

The teenager would spend nine months in custody on remand, followed by another seven months in a drug rehabilitation facility.

His lawyer, Rodney Boyd, said it had not all been "smooth sailing" but the teenager had accepted responsibility for his role in the fatal crash and pleaded guilty in February this year.

"The incident itself is clearly a tragedy and has changed his life forever, it cannot be understated the significance of this."

The Crown applied for the sentence to be dealt with in the District Court, where a longer sentence could be imposed, something denied by Mr Williams, and Prosecutor Tim George said there were concerns that the boy still had a significant way to go, having picked up a gambling addiction since leaving custody.

But Mr Williams said given the teenager's successful completion of the rehabilitation program, the court could have confidence in the young man's future prospects.

"[He] has been struggling in the community to find his place and path towards his future," Mr Williams said.

"But one things is clear, in relation to driving, he accepts that responsibility and it is clear that he will not offend in that way ever again."

Given the teenager's time already spent behind bars and the focus on rehabilitation in Children's Court matters, Mr Williams did not send the young man back into custody, instead structuring his sentence so that the time already served would satisfy the non-parole period, and the teenager would be supervised by community corrections for "a long time".

Mr Williams imposed a two year and six month sentence, with a 10 month non-parole period.

But, he said, the case served as a message about the dangers of driving, without a licence, and it is something that the teenager would have to live with for the rest of his life, as will the family of the dead boy, and that no sentence the court could impose would properly reflect the loss they would have endured.

"The best hope is that [he] can live a valuable life, to prove he is worthy of the life he has taken away."