Director of Public Prosecutions v Loricco

[2014] VCC 1307

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
(Not) Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT GEELONG
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-14-00822

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

KRISTIAN BARTHOLOMEW LORICCO

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CAMPTON
WHERE HELD:	Geelong
DATE OF HEARING:	20 June 2014
DATE OF SENTENCE:	20 June 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Loricco
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 1307

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:  Dangerous Driving Causing Serious Injury, Reckless Conduct Endangering A Person, Failing to Render Assistance
Catchwords: After an accident where a person was injured, unlicenced driving, unregistered vehicle
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence: 3 years 6 months, with a non-parole period of 2 years and 2 months. Licence disqualified for 3 years.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr B.D. Nibbs
For the Offender	Mr C. Baker

HER HONOUR: 

THE CHARGES

1Kristian Loricco, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury; one charge of reckless conduct endangering a person; and one charge of failing to render assistance after an accident where a person was injured.

2In addition, you have pleaded guilty to the summary offences of driving without a licence and driving an unregistered vehicle.

3The maximum penalty for dangerous driving causing serious injury is five years.  The maximum penalty for failing to render assistance is ten years.  The maximum penalty to driving without a licence is 25 penalty units or imprisonment not exceeding three months; and the maximum penalty for driving an unregistered vehicle is 50 penalty units.

THE BACKGROUND

4The background to this matter is that on 10 July 2013, at approximately 7.20 pm, the two victims, Holly Allison, who was aged 14 at the time; and India Braniff, aged 13, were walking along Twitt Street on the grass facing oncoming traffic.

5Twitt Street is a sealed road with a 50 kilometres speed limit and no lighting.

6You were driving North on Twitt Road approaching the victims from behind, when you veered to the wrong side of the road, striking the victims from behind.  Your vehicle struck a 50 kilometre per hour speed sign with such force that it bent the pole to almost 90 degrees and ripped it from the ground.

7Charge 1 of dangerous driving causing serious injury, relates to the fact that your vehicle struck Holly Allison.  Holly's head hit the windscreen, shattering the glass and leaving some of her hair embedded in the damaged windscreen.

8Charge 2 relates to the fact that your vehicle also struck India Braniff, pinning her under the driver's front side.  She was still pinned under the car when you came to a stop.  She recalls you getting out of your car and saying, "I'd better back up then."  You reversed and drove around her and continued north along Twitt Street.

9She got up and tried to find her phone to call Triple 0 but could not find it.

10A witness stopped and called Emergency Services.  The girls were treated by ambulance and then conveyed to the Geelong Hospital.

INJURIES SUFFERED

11India Braniff was in the Geelong Hospital for 24 hours and suffered superficial injuries, including a laceration to the back of her head, grazing to the right flank and ankle and loss of consciousness for less than ten seconds.

12Holly Allison was not so fortunate.  She had a Glasgow Score of 12 when paramedics arrived at the scene; a left subdural haematoma in the peripheral region; multiple fractures of a left tibia and fibula which required surgical intervention using nails and screws to align the bones, a small bruise and bleeding of the lungs.

13In her Victim Impact Statement, Holly states that she had many emotions on waking up in hospital and seeing the plaster on her leg.  She had to cope with a long period of recovery from the injury to her lower left leg.  She missed a lot of school and she needs special orthopaedic shoes.

14Holly's sister, Amy, said in her statement that she will never be able to forget the vision of her little sister lying in the hospital bed and that she constantly worries about Holly's safety.

15In her Victim Impact Statement, India said she cannot walk down the street without stopping and watching all the cars going past as she is scared she is going to get hit again.  However, she is most disturbed by the fact that you got out of your car, you talked to her, and then left her lying on the road; doing nothing to assist her after the collision.

ARREST

16You were apprehended as a result of some detective work by India's stepfather.  On 11 July 2013, he returned to the scene of the collision to search for the girls' mobile phones and located part of the car lens.  Through Google search he ascertained the type of car involved in the accident and after making various enquiries, attended at your address and confronted you about the accident.

17The police were called and you were arrested and interviewed at the Geelong Police Station.  In the interview you claimed first you thought that you had hit a dog, but eventually admitted to the collision and to knowing your obligation to stay and render assistance if someone is injured in a collision.

18In your record of interview you informed the police that you had taken prescribed medication on that day, including Valium and Seroquel.  In a forensic medical report dated 23 September 2013, Dr Jo Ann Parkin reported that your medications were drugs that can cause sedation and that the sedative effect may adversely affect one's ability to control a vehicle.

19However, she also said that sedative effect was a variable amongst individuals.  There was no toxicity report and it has not been suggested by the prosecution that your medication played a role in the collision.

REASONS GIVEN FOR LEAVING THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

20With respect to your actions in leaving the scene of the collision and not staying to render assistance to the victims, your counsel informed the court that it was a combination of two things.

21Firstly, that you had panicked.  Secondly, that you  had not been aware that two people had been injured, and that you thought the girl that had been pinned under the car was all right, as you saw her stand up before you left the scene.

PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

22Your personal circumstances were set out in reports from Ian Joblin and Luke Lindsay.  You were born in Geelong 29 September 76, and you are now 37.  Your parents separated when you were a young boy and you have had little contact with your father.

23Your mother formed a relationship with Mr Loricco, and you had a good relationship with him.  However, the same is not true of the relationship with your mother, who suffered from psychiatric illness and had many admissions to hospital.

24You were raised in Whittington and left school at the end of Year 9.  After leaving school you worked in various jobs, including welding, concreting, truck driving, and you have a bobcat driver's licence.

25You have a 16 year old son from a relationship with Tracey which ended in 2006. 

26It appears from the plea material that after this relationship ended, your use of alcohol escalated.  This abuse of alcohol is reflected in the two priors you have for exceeding .05.  You also have two priors for careless driving and for driving unregistered vehicle.

27You have a history of illicit drug use, including cannabis and amphetamines, however, your present issue is heroin which you have been using since the collision in July 2013.

28In his report, Mr Lindsay described your presentation as being suggestive of a substance dependence disorder on a background complex post-traumatic stress disorder, coupled with significant social anxiety.

29The post-traumatic stress symptoms relate to a violent sexual assault carried out on you by three adult men when you were only 19.  Mr Lindsay reported that it was soon after these events that you began using substances as a way of managing your emotions.

SUBMISSIONS BY COUNSEL

30In his plea on your behalf, the mitigating factors relied on by your counsel included your plea of guilty and remorse for your actions.  Your concern for your young son who has been residing with you.

31With respect to your rehabilitation he relied on your work history prior to the break-up with Tracey and your desire to return to work.

32With respect to you leaving the scene of the collision, he relied on the explanations I have referred to earlier in this sentence.

33The prosecutor submitted that general and specific deterrence were important in this case and that an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.

SENTENCING REMARKS

34In sentencing you I have taken into account all the mitigating factors referred to by your counsel and I have given you a discount for your plea of guilty.  I also accept your counsel's submission that you are remorseful.  In doing so I have taken into account that both Mr Joblin and Mr Lindsay referred to you as being remorseful for the incident and the effect it had on the victims and their families.

35However, I must balance these considerations with the need for general deterrence.  The most disturbing aspect of this case is that you left the scene of the collision without checking on the welfare of the victims.  Even if I accept that you were only aware, or that you only thought there was one victim, other than reversing your car off that girl, you did not nothing to assist her.

36Mr Joblin reported that you had informed him that some weeks prior to this collision, your son was hit by a car while riding a bike, and spent time in hospital.

37Given that this caused you great distress and, no doubt, great anger, it is inexplicable as to why you fled the scene of the collision without assisting the young girl that you were aware that you had hit.  You knew it was your legal responsibility to stay and offer assistance but when you reversed you thought only about yourself and the consequences you would face due to the collision.

38What you did was selfish and totally abhorrent and it deserves the strongest condemnation.

39In Wassef v. R [2011] VSCA 30, a decision of the Court of Appeal, they made it clear that drivers who had breached their duty, and depart the scene of an accident in circumstances where it is likely to be inferred that someone has been injured, cannot expect the court will give weight to exculpatory explanations for what they have done, which are proffered after the event.  They must expect the imposition of substantial terms of imprisonment.

40Stand up please.  On the charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury, you are sentenced to 18 months.

41On the charge of reckless conduct endangering a person, you are sentenced to 12 months.

42On the charge of failing to render assistance, you are sentenced to three years.

43On driving without a licence, you are sentenced to one month; and

44On driving an unregistered vehicle, you are fined the amount of $800.

45The base sentence is a sentence of three years on the count of failing to render assistance.  I cumulate four months of the sentence on Count 1 and two months of the sentence on Count 2.  On Count 3, which results in a sentence of three years and six months.

46I fix a non-parole period of two years and three months.  You are disqualified from obtaining a licence for a period of three years

47But for your plea of guilty, you would have been sentenced to five years, to serve three years.

48MR NIBBS:  PSD of two days, Your Honour.

49HER HONOUR:  I declare for the record, pre-sentence detention of two days.

50You can take the prisoner down.

51MR NIBBS:  With the licence disqualification, does that three years commence from now?

52HER HONOUR:  It does.

53(Offender removed.)

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