Director of Public Prosecutions v Buckley
[2018] VCC 1693
•16 October 2018
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR 18-00840
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| DILLON BUCKLEY |
---
| JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE MARICH |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 21 September 2018 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 16 October 2018 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Buckley |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2018] VCC 1693 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms C. Parkes | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr B. Newton (Plea) Mr V. Wang (Sentence) | Dribbin & Brown Criminal Law |
HER HONOUR:
1Dillon Buckley, you have pleaded guilty to an indictment containing one count of culpable driving which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and one count of negligently causing serious injury which carries a maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment. The circumstances in which you came to commit those offences are set out in the summary of prosecution opening on plea, dated 27 August 2018, which was read into evidence at your hearing.
2I have had regard to that opening when determining the appropriate sentences in your case. The prosecution also tendered an outline of prosecution plea submissions dated 21 September 2018, in the course of your hearing, as well as other documents to which I will return. In addition to making oral submissions, your counsel relied on a written outline of submission for plea hearing dated 18 September 2018. I have had regard to this submission in formulating my reasons for sentence and of course the oral submissions and I will discuss the other reports, references and other material relied upon by your counsel in your case in due course.
Circumstances of the offending.
3On Saturday, 9 December 2017, at approximately 1.05 pm, you were driving your car, a green 2008 VE SV6 Holden Commodore sedan north along Monbulk-Seville Road in Wandin East. You were the holder of a full Victorian driver's licence. The victims in this matter, Guy Williams and Mardi Trease, were walking with their border collie, Jamie, north on the western-side grassed verge of the bitumen on Monbulk-Seville Road. This road starts at Monbulk Road in Monbulk and winds its way in a northerly direction until it ends at Warburton Highway in Seville. The location of this collision is approximately 5 kilometres south from the intersection with Warburton Highway. It is 220 m north from the intersection with Wandin Creek Road. At that location the speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour. There is a single lane in each direction. It had a bitumen surface which was in good condition. There is a curve in the road at the scene, extending from the south west to north east.
4At the time of this incident, Mr Williams was 58 years of age. He was a self-employed IT specialist living in Wandin East. Ms Trease was 68 years of age, a veterinary surgeon, then also living in Wandin East. Mr Williams and Ms Trease met in 2008 and commenced a loving relationship. Every weekend they would take Jamie for a walk along this path. If they heard a car coming, they would all move further away from the bitumen edge in order to be safe.
5The weather was fine and it was a warm and sunny summer's day.
6In the minutes prior to you colliding with the victims, killing one and seriously injuring another, your careless and erratic driving caused alarm and concern to a number of witnesses.
7In summary, witnesses told police that in the minutes prior to the collision, you cut a corner as you entered the intersection of Old Baker Road, Parker Road and Monbulk-Seville Road, which is approximately 600 or 700 metres from the incident site, so that half of your car was over the centre white line. You spun the wheels of the car on the loose stones within the intersection and then you accelerated really quickly.
8The collision occurred a couple of hundred metres in distance past a Christmas tree farm at 85 Monbulk-Seville Road. One witness who was at that farm observed your car travel off the road into a concrete culvert causing a loud bang (which was also heard by another witness).
9You then continued up the hill past the farm and at that time the car appeared to be half on, half off the road with its passenger wheels off the road in the gravel and grass. Your car appeared to one witness like it was slightly travelling sideways up the hill. There were numerous observations of you travelling at a high speed and one witness was sufficiently alarmed by your driving to call out to some people who were at their car outside the fence of the farm to "Watch out", as it seemed your car was headed towards them. A number of witnesses were gravely concerned by the manner of your driving and the risks that it posed.
10A witness noted that you continued along the Monbulk-Seville Road through the intersection with Wandin Creek Road and he saw that you continued to travel with your passenger wheels off the bitumen road and on the gravel on the left-hand side of the road, all the while at high speed. Detective Leading Senior Constable Michael Hardiman, Collision Reconstruction Expert, concluded that you were here travelling at 102 kilometres per hour when you entered this gravel and were traveling in a yaw rotating in a clockwise direction.
11Though it was clear that from the observations of these witnesses that you were travelling at a high speed and that your car was not properly confined to the bitumen of the road, a number of witnesses describe you as accelerating your engine, albeit that you were travelling at a fast speed on a bitumen road with one lane headed in each direction. Your car was not in your proper control and had not been for the minutes prior to your offending. This was apparent to those who observed you, some of whom felt imperilled by your driving. Nonetheless you continued to drive and were described as accelerating the engine. The events I have described, to demonstrate the context of the incident, took place over several hundred metres at fast speed.
12As your car approached the victims, you veered off the road and you struck them from behind, causing critical injuries to both and injuring their dog. Detective Leading Senior Constable Michael Hardiman concluded that you were here traveling at 50 to 80 kilometres per hour at this time.
13Your car continued north for a short distance, before colliding with a tree. The car then rolled and came to rest upon its roof, on the road. A number of witnesses attended upon the scene having heard the impact and summoned police and rendered assistance.
14One witness observed you trying to push your car back on to its wheels and that you appeared agitated. You eventually stopped trying to push the car over and sat down on the grass nearby. You appeared to be drunk but did not smell of alcohol. You were laughing and slurring your words. Two witnesses described speaking to you and asking whether in effect you realised you had hit a person and a dog and you replied, "I don't care".
15Some of the witnesses who had attended the scene provided assistance to Ms Trease and moved Mr Williams from his place of rest and performed CPR on him until the ambulance arrived.
16You then fell asleep on the grass.
17Mr Williams suffered multiple injuries and died at the scene. Ms Trease was critically injured. She was air-lifted to The Royal Melbourne Hospital where she was found to have suffered the following injuries: bilateral fractures to both her lower legs, a fracture to her left upper arm, fractures to her pelvis, fractures to her left hand, fractures to her face, brain injuries and pneumonia.
18Ms Trease underwent multiple surgeries to repair her fractures. Plates, pins and screws were inserted into both of her legs, her pelvis, her left hand and her left shoulder. Her brain injuries were managed by a neurosurgery team. The pneumonia was treated with antibiotics. She was unable to walk for 12 weeks. Ms Trease remained at The Royal Melbourne Hospital until 28 December 2017. She was then transferred to Epworth Hospital, Richmond and subsequently to Epworth Hospital, Hawthorn for extensive rehabilitation. She will require further surgery to remove the plates, pins and screws.
19Jamie suffered a number of injuries but has since recovered.
Investigation, arrest and interview
20Police attended at the scene. One police witness described you as appearing heavily drug or alcohol effected and as swaying around as you moved and having a vacant look in your eyes and that your pupils appeared to be extremely constricted.
21A preliminary breath test was undertaken which indicated no presence of alcohol. You were arrested and a pat-down search was conducted. Police located an unused syringe, cigarettes and a lighter. You were uninjured save for some minor superficial scratches and abrasions to your lower legs.
22Though you were initially assessed as being unfit for interview, you later participated in a police interview and answered no comment to questions as is your right.
Consumption of heroin
23Whilst you were in the police car, you disclosed to a paramedic in the presence of police that you had taken heroin at about 12.45 pm, which is approximately 20 minutes prior to the incident. Blood testing later revealed the presence of morphine in your blood which is a metabolite of diamorphine, also known as heroin.
24Your counsel confirmed that, on the day, you had finished work, used heroin, and then you were driving towards your mother's home in Seville when the collision occurred.
25Dr Angela Sungaila, Forensic Physician, expressed the observation that morphine is a narcotic analgesic which causes euphoria, drowsiness and sedation. The acutely intoxicated state of heroin consumption is not compatible with maintaining proper control of a motor vehicle. In her expert opinion, the driving impairment caused by morphine is caused by sedation so that a driver may become too drowsy to adequately control their motor vehicle.
26In her view, the nature of your driving behaviour prior to the collision suggests that you did not have proper control of the motor vehicle and is in keeping with the driver being sedated. She was of the opinion that the presence of morphine contributed to your impairment. However, without her having knowledge of your habit of drug use, she is unable to conclude that morphine, specifically at the level found (of 0.04 milligrams per litre of blood) would have caused the totality of your driving behaviour and collision.
Effect on the victim
27As a result of your offending, Mr Guy Williams was killed and Ms Mardi Trease suffered the serious injuries I have described.
28I have received a victim impact statement from Mardi Trease. She read that statement to the court in the course of the plea in mitigation of penalty and I will now read that victim impact statement and incorporate it into these reasons for sentence.
"This crime has affected my life in two major ways, (1) from the death of my partner Guy Williams, (2), from the severe bodily injuries I sustained. Guy Williams has been my partner for the past ten years and the relationship was still very strong. He had his home in Steels Creek and I had mine in Wandin East. During the weekdays he sent me emails and messages daily and on the weekends he came to stay with me. We went on many holidays and long weekends away together.
"It always included camping in the bush and walking 10 to 20 kilometres daily. Our favourite places were the mountains in Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand. Guy took me in his modified four-wheel drive to isolated places and often walked in the bush and that required his excellent navigational skills. This will no longer be possible. On weekends at home we were happily in routine and we were at ease with just our own company. He helped me with the physical activities that I couldn't do like collecting and cutting up wood with the chainsaw, setting up a firefighting system and building structures like the wood box.
"It has been difficult to adjust to life without Guy. I miss him. We had many things in common. We loved the outdoors, hiking and camping and loved animals. The life we had together and what we were planning to do in the future is gone. I sustained severe bodily injuries by being hit by the car which has impacted heavily on my life. Two severely broken legs, broken pelvis, broken hand and humerus, broken cheekbone and nose and a small bleed on the brain.
"This entailed me being in hospital for about three and a half months to just start on my recovery, three months of which I was unable to walk. My usual life was based on outdoors and physical activity, this included my passion for riding and competing on my horses. I usually rode about five days per week including dressage and show jumping lessons. I also was passionate about bushwalking and all my weekends and holidays included long walks usually in the bush.
"These activities have been severely affected by the trauma sustained to my body. I haven't ridden my horses nor gone on a bushwalk since the trauma to my body. I used to walk 20 kilometres in a day, now I can only manage 2 kilometres. I also don't sleep well. My work as a veterinary surgeon has been important in my life for 37 years financially, socially, psychologically. I was unable to work for over six months and have only been allowed to return for two four-hour sessions per week.
"So far the TAC have supported most of the financial impact but this will stop in the future. I am constantly in pain with my legs and left arm and my sleep has been affected. In summary, my life has changed considerably for the worse and it is very hard to get my life back into the happy state that I'd had. I have lost my lifetime partner and all that entails. I have lost my ability for full time work. I am constantly in pain. I have lost so far my most important lifestyle activities that I enjoyed: horse riding and bushwalking."
29I also received a victim impact statement from Mr Williams' mother, Beverley Williams, who is turning 90 years of age this week. Without diminishing the importance of the rest of her statement in any way, I will now read two paragraphs into these reasons for sentence.
"The last time that Guy and I saw each other was two weeks before he died. This was when he led a walk at Cape Liptrap for my walking club of which he was a former member. When we said our goodbyes that day, after a walk at Venus Bay, I had no reason to think that I would never see him again but I will always treasure the memories of three fabulous days. I will be 90 years old next month and I don't know how long is left to me but I know there will not be a day of that time when I won't miss Guy, knowing that if he were here, he would always have been helpful when I needed it.
"We didn't really talk about this but I knew from experience that that is what would happen. I wish I could see and speak to him one more time but instead I will be haunted by that truly ghastly moment when a stranger informed me on my phone that my son was deceased through the actions of someone's careless criminally negligent behaviour."
30I also received a victim impact statement from Mr Williams' sister, Ruth Tate. I will now read from that statement.
"I have lost the person that I grew up with, my only brother. It is a lonely feeling. We shared our little dog and we both grew up with a love of dogs. One of my later memories is walking our dogs on the beach at Phillip Island. Another is Guy proudly showing us what he had done with his house at Steels Creek. One of the worst nightmares was not knowing if he had survived the Black Saturday fires. We are not a large family and he is desperately missed from every get together. I try really hard to support our mother. Nine months later she is still struggling to cope. Life can never be the same."
31Each of those victims has lost a cherished and dear family member as a result of your behaviour.
32Additionally to her trauma and grief, you have caused
Ms Trease very significant injuries.Negligence
33In relation to count 1, the prosecution has contended that you drove negligently, i.e. failing unjustifiably and to a gross degree to observe the standard of care which a reasonable person would have observed in all the circumstances. Count two also alleges negligence.
34In your case, there are a number of serious and concerning features of your offending which show your negligence in driving.
35You were affected by the consumption of the drug heroin approximately 20 minutes prior to the incident.
36You were grossly inattentive to the safety of others in the vicinity on and adjacent to the road.
37Though you were travelling at or near the speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour in the minute prior to the collision, such was the state of your inattention and your heroin-induced intoxication, that you did not have adequate control of your car. I have described the state of your driving in the minutes prior to the incident, including driving in excess of the speed limit whilst your car was in a yaw, with wheels not on the bitumen of this narrow road.
38That was manifestly clear to those witnesses who observed the state of your driving prior to these incidents. It would have been clear to a reasonable person that they should not have been driving at all. A reasonable driver would not have been driving in the way that you did but you drove anyway. You had ample opportunity in those minutes to pull over but you did not do so and you did not slow down so that you had adequate control of the vehicle to avoid the accident.
39You took none of the steps that are obliged upon a reasonable driver and you caused Mr Williams' death and Ms Trease's serious and enduring injuries. I have had regard to the Court of Appeal of Victoria decision in Halket v The Queen (2006) 77 MVR 509 in the formulation of negligence in this case.
40Furthermore, I consider this to be a serious example of the offence of negligently causing serious injury in all of the circumstances of the case, given the extent of the negligence and the extent of Ms Trease's serious injuries. And I make that observation of course separately to the serious nature of the culpable driving. In relation to negligently causing serious injury, I have read and taken into account the propositions outlined by the Court of Appeal of Victoria in the case of Harrison & Rigogiannis v The Queen (2015) 49 VR 619, recognising, as the court did in 2015, that sentencing courts should no longer consider themselves constrained by the pre-2015 sentencing practice for offences of negligently causing serious injury in the context of driving, which fell within upper, mid or low ranges of seriousness and that the sentence imposed in those cases pre-2015 should not be viewed as setting any limit on the sentence that may be imposed in such a case.
41I accept your counsel's characterisation that the moral culpability for the offending, taking into account your personal circumstances, which I am about to discuss, falls into the mid-range of offending.
Plea of guilty
42The offences were committed on 9 December 2017, and you were charged on 10 December 2017. You pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity which was the committal mention proceeding at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 23 April 2018.
43I accept and take into account that you pleaded guilty at the earliest stage and, as submitted by your counsel, that this plea is indicative of remorse as well as having utilitarian value. You have expressed your remorse in addition to other persons who provided references in this case and I accept that expression of remorse. Through your counsel, you expressed your apologies to the victim Ms Trease, and Mr Williams' family, in court in the course of the plea.
Personal circumstances
44You were, at the time of the offence, and are still 27 years of age.
45You were one of two children born to loving parents and you lived in Somerville until you were aged eight years old, at which time your parents separated and divorced.
46You completed grade 5 at Somerville Rise Primary School until your parents’ separation led to you moving to live with your mother and sister at Mount Evelyn, where you completed grades 5 and 6 at Lilydale Primary School.
47You completed year 10 at Pembroke Secondary College at Mt Evelyn, leaving after expulsion during year 11 in 2007 on account of poor behaviour and attendance.
48After you concluded your secondary schooling, you enrolled in a certificate II in Building and Construction (Carpentry), completing this in June 2008. Between 2012 and 2014, you undertook and completed certificate III in Arboriculture and Horticulture.
49By December 2015, you had completed various other vocational certified courses including a licence to operate a slewing mobile crane, a licence to perform rigging at a basic level, a licence to operate and maintain chainsaws, a licence to operate a boom-type elevating work platform, a heavy rigid truck driving licence and a certificate III in scaffolding.
50You have a strong work ethic demonstrated by your long and continuous employment history, and I summarise:
51Prior to leaving school, in October 2005, you commenced employment on a casual part-time basis as a grocery merchandiser at Mount Evelyn IGA supermarket at the age of 15 years, and continued for three years. Between October 2008 and January 2009, you worked as a factory hand with Worthington Industries in Bayswater. Between January 2009 and November 2012, you worked as a tree arborist and eventually a crew leader with Taylors Tree & Stump Removal in Bayswater. Between November 2012 and January 2013, you were employed as a general maintenance hand with Storage King, Victoria. Following a re-structuring of that employment, between February and May 2013, you returned to tree arborist work with Bluey's Tree Services in The Basin.
52I note that you were off work for several months in 2013 due to an injury to your left hand resulting from operating a chainsaw.
53For seven months in 2014, after healing from your injury, you returned to work as a tree arborist with SOS Tree Services in Mount Evelyn. In January 2015 you moved to Esperance in Western Australia and worked in a small family business, that is Green’s Crane Hire Pty Ltd. In May 2015, you returned to Melbourne and worked as a tree arborist and leading hand with Tree Access in Wandin. In November 2015, you returned to Western Australia and worked as a crane operator, rigger and heavy vehicle driver, returning to Victoria in April 2016.
54From May 2016 until the date of hearing of the plea in mitigation of penalty on 21 September 2018, you were employed as a crew leader in a full time capacity with Network Scaffolding in Bayswater Victoria. Your duties including scaffolding, stock planning, customer relations and quotations. I have read and considered a character reference provided by Network Scaffolding director, Mark Sullivan dated 28 August 2018. Mr Sullivan speaks of your strong work ethic that I have observed and your generous and hardworking nature. He notes that you are highly regarded by your peers and management at work.
55The references that I have received on your behalf in this matter demonstrate that you have the strong support of a significant group of friends and family. This will assist you to reintegrate once your sentence has been served.
Prior criminal history
56There is a modest criminal history.
57There was a traffic infringement notice issued on 1 April 2009, for exceeding the speed limit between 40 and 45 kilometres per hour upon which your driver's licence was suspended for six months. This was followed by an appearance in the Children's Court on 13 May 2006, for the offence of recklessly cause injury, upon which you were placed on a good behaviour bond without conviction and you satisfactorily completed that bond. Your final infringement was a charge of disobey traffic control signal to which you pleaded guilty at the Ringwood Magistrates' Court on 14 November 2011, and upon which you were fined $350 without conviction.
Medical and psychological history
58At the age of eight years, following your parents’ separation, I have been told that you became suicidal.
59By the age of 10 or 11 years you had developed depression and were seen by school counsellors for behavioural and depression issues.
60I have read and considered the forensic report of
Ms Pamela Matthews, forensic psychologist, dated 4 September 2018. She opines that your symptoms of depression chronologically coincide with the deterioration of your parents’ marriage.61I have been told that you first tasted alcohol at the age of 13 years and you drank intermittently from the age of 15.
62You commenced using cannabis and also used ice and heroin. As a teenager, your consumption of illicit substances caused disharmony at home while you were living with your mother and step-father.
63You left home at the age of 18 years and resided with your best friend, Mr Michael Goff, in a bungalow at the Mount Evelyn home of Mr Goff's step-father and mother, Gary and Leanne Dalton. I have read and taken into account the character references provided by Mr Goff and Mr and Mrs Dalton. Those references speak of your work ethic, your loyalty, compassion and strength when it comes to family and your sincere regret at the effect of your offending upon the victims. Mr and Mrs Dalton have told me they are dedicated to supporting you through this court case and into the future upon your release and that you will always have a home with their family.
64When aged 19 years, you commenced a relationship with Ms Chantelle Steegstra and you are the father of a boy named Tyler Buckley, born to Ms Steegstra in September 2010. I have received a reference from Ms Steegstra's father Gary, dated 10 April 2018, and I take that into account.
65In August 2012, you were admitted to the William Angliss Hospital with severe chest pain and diagnosed with pericardia. In September 2012, you were separately treated at that hospital with a swollen earlobe and abscess.
66In December 2012, shortly prior to your son Tyler turning two, your former partner moved out and took Tyler to live with her parents.
67Following this, in January 2013, you sought treatment for depression and substance abuse issues from Dr Ebrahim Hosseini at the Greater Knox Family Practice.
68In October 2013, you drank alcohol to excess on your 23rd birthday and attempted suicide. This led to your involuntary admission to the Maroondah Hospital psychiatric unit and you were thereafter referred to Eastern Drug and Alcohol Services for counselling.
69I am told that you substantially reduced your alcohol consumption after that treatment.
70Tragically, in May 2014, your close friend and former work colleague Scott Gamble, aged only 22 years at the time, was killed at work.
71This led to your symptoms of depression returning with intrusive thoughts of suicide leading to an escalation in your drug and alcohol usage.
72The character reference provided by your mother, Lynda White, dated 10 April 2018 discloses the effect of Mr Gamble's death upon you.
73In July 2014, you were referred to consultant psychiatrist Dr Anna Pampockerell who diagnosed chronic anger as part of your personality and substance induced mood disorder (alcohol and ice). You then sought treatment from Headspace and attended regularly for approximately four months at the end of 2014, which ended when you went to Western Australia for work. You later resumed treatment in early October 2015.
74Whilst you were in Western Australia for work, you did not use illicit substances, though you continued to drink alcohol socially.
75In the course of your separation from your former partner and the years that have passed since, you continued to have contact with Tyler until the end of 2012 but there have been periods of considerable disruption since to your agreed child contact arrangements. In 2015 your ex-de facto partner and Tyler moved to reside interstate in Queensland and you have had intermittent contact with Tyler since.
76Psychologist Melissa Noonan has provided a report dated 5 September 2018, which I have read and considered, and she has opined: “a contributing factor to his depression and a catalyst for times when he abused alcohol during binges. Where he consumed excessive amounts of alcohol seem to be strongly connected to his ex-partner refusing access to his son, Tyler.”
77In January 2017, Tyler was assessed and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I note you have consistently paid child support in relation to his care. In her report of 4 September 2018, Ms Pamela Matthews provided a thorough history of your personal circumstances and expressed the opinion that you:
"At the time of the events in December 2017, most likely met with substance abuse disorder criterion under DSM-5 for alcohol, opiates and stimulants".
78Also, that your substance use is intimately connected to your offence behaviour. No reliance was made by your counsel as to the application of Verdins in this case.
79Ms Matthews expresses the view that you have a history of attachment disturbance and loss, childhood psychiatric disturbance, some cluster B personality symptomatology but not sufficient to make a diagnosis and persistent dysphoric mood disturbance characterised by low self-esteem and persistent low or irritable mood state, also not sufficient to make a diagnosis.
80These symptoms, in Ms Matthews’ view, are interactive with your substance use and will require concomitant treatment as well as for your drug and alcohol issues.
Prospects of rehabilitation
81It has been submitted on your behalf that you have very good prospects of rehabilitation.
82Your counsel refers to the combination of the following facts in your case:
· your very limited and dated criminal history;
· there is no subsequent offending, and you have no police charges pending;
· your plea of guilty at the earliest practicable opportunity;
· that you are genuinely remorseful for the severe pain and profound loss suffered by others as a direct result of your offending;
· that Ms Matthews expresses the view that with focused treatment of your substance use issues, and your underlying psychological and mental state pathology, your risk of re-offending is estimated to be low;
· that following testing, Ms Matthews concluded that your full-scale IQ was 114 (placing you at the 82nd percentile) and that your intelligence represented a further positive prognostic indicator;
· that you have not driven since the offence;
· that you have demonstrated that you are prepared to take courses as directed;
· that you ceased heroin use following your offending (albeit that you have continued cannabis usage), and that you have reduced your consumption of alcohol;
· that you have a solid work history of paid employment commencing prior to when you left secondary school;
· that you have strong support from family and friends, and your current employer, and
· your relatively young age.
83I note the prosecution submission on the other hand that you have a long history of consumption of drugs and alcohol. You have not engaged in any drug counselling or treatment since the collision and you have not followed up on drug screens arranged by your doctor on 1 June 2018 (see medical reports from Moores Road Medical Centre). Whilst you have engaged in three sessions of counselling this year with Melissa Noonan, you informed her in the fourth session you did not wish to continue and that counselling related to your alcohol consumption and not drugs.
84I consider, notwithstanding the nature of this appalling offending, that in view of your modest criminal history and in all of the other circumstances, there are cautiously good prospects of rehabilitation, and I am cautious because the provision is provided that you acknowledge that your drug use is the reason for your offending and seek appropriate treatment for that usage and the devastating consequences that it has caused. Like Ms Matthews, I consider that you have the potential to develop a very meaningful life after your period of imprisonment concludes.
Relevant sentencing principles
85I take into account the other purposes beyond rehabilitation for which sentence must be imposed including the need for deterrence, particularly general and also specific.
86I accept the prosecution's submission in accordance with the authorities relied upon, all of which I have read and considered, that general deterrence is a significant sentencing consideration for offending of this nature and that specific deterrence also requires weight (see DPP v Trueman [2017] VSCA 24, [31], though I do note in that case that the offender had an acutely relevant previous criminal history, whereas yours is minimal).
87I must also punish you and denounce your conduct.
Sentencing submissions
88It was accepted by both parties that in the circumstances of this case the only appropriate sentence was one of immediate custody. I have been mindful of the fact that this is your first term of imprisonment and I trust and infer that it will be of salutary effect.
Sentence
89On the count of culpable driving, you are convicted and sentenced to six years and six months' imprisonment.
90On the count of negligently causing serious injury, you are convicted and sentenced to four years and six months' imprisonment.
91I order that 12 months of the sentence imposed on count two be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on count one. This is a total effective sentence of seven years and six months' imprisonment and I order that you must serve five years before you are eligible for parole.
92In relation to pre-sentence detention, I declare 25 days reckoned as served, excluding today.
S 6AAA declaration
93Pursuant to s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991 of Victoria, I declare that had you pleaded not guilty to these charges and been found guilty of them, the total effective sentence that I would have imposed would have been nine years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years and three months.
Ancillary orders
94I cancel your driver's licence and disqualify you from obtaining another for a period of five years. In so doing I have taken into account your desire to return to your skilled labouring work, which in turn may improve your prospects of rehabilitation upon release.
95In circumstances where it has been consented, I grant the order sought under s.464ZF(2) of the Crimes Act 1958 that you undergo a forensic procedure for the taking of a scraping from your mouth in accordance with subdivision 30(A) of part three of the Crimes Act. If you do not consent to the taking of a mouth scraping under the supervision of an authorised member of the police force, the sample to be taken will be a blood sample and police may use reasonable force to enable that forensic procedure to be conducted. I have made such an order because the order is by consent and also the seriousness of the circumstances of the offending warrant the order.
96Mr Buckley, I will just explain without reading from anything. I have ordered that a simple mouth scraping be taken from the inside of your cheek as a result of your offending. This is a painless procedure and it is - the police will conduct this procedure at their convenience, at your convenience. But if you resist that such a sample can be taken by force. Thank you. Are there any orders that I have neglected to make that I should?
97MS PARKES: No, Your Honour.
98HER HONOUR: Thank you. On that basis, Mr Buckley may be removed. And I will stand down until 10.15. Thank you.
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