Director of Public Prosecutions v Norman

[2025] VCC 2036

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT SHEPPARTON

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

CR 24-00962

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DYLAN NORMAN

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE CHETTLE
WHERE HELD:	Shepparton
DATE OF HEARING:	9 December 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	11 December 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Norman
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 2036

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Catchwords:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr P. Teo	OPP
For the Accused	Mr G. Cooper	VLA

HIS HONOUR:

1Dylan Norman, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to stop your motor vehicle after a fatal collision, one charge of destroying or concealing evidence, and one charge of drive in a manner dangerous causing death. In addition you have pleaded guilty to one related summary offence of driving whilst disqualified.

2The facts of your offending are set out in Exhibit A, the prosecution summary for plea.  I was advised by your counsel that I could treat that document as an agreed statement of fact.  I incorporate it into these reasons for sentence and I sentence you on the basis of the facts set out therein.

3On 4 August 2023 at about 9.15 pm, 16 year old Caleb Puttifoot left his job at a pizza parlour in Benalla and started to walk home.  He approached the intersection of Bridge Street West and Arundel Street.  It was dark and it was raining.  The road was wet.  Caleb crossed Bridge Street one or two metres to the west of a pedestrian crossing that had a red signal applicable to him.  Witnesses describe him as running across the road. 

4He ran in front of a white Mitsubishi Tritan Utility being driving in a westerly direction by you.  You were driving at at least 76 kilometres per hour in a
60 kilometres per hour speed zone in the dark and wet conditions.  You should not have been driving at all, having been disqualified from driving by the Benalla Court on 20 June of last year.

5Your vehicle collided with Caleb throwing him some 40 metres.  I have watched Exhibit E, the CCTV footage of this collision.  It is difficult to see clearly.  Your vehicle can be seen to travel from left to right of the scene at high speed and it can be seen to be wet and raining.  Your brake lights can be seen to briefly activate before you drove away from the collision scene.  You did not stop.  You did not render assistance.

6Caleb received first aid and CPR from police who arrived before being air lifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital.  He remained unconscious in the ICU until he died on 13 August of last year.

7You drove to a neighbour's property in Baddaginnie and you claimed to have hit a kangaroo and sought to remove a dent on your vehicle’s bonnet with a rubber mallet.  You left but returned the following day to make repairs to the bonnet of the Mitsubishi.  You told people you knew that you had hit Caleb when he ran in front of your vehicle in Bridge Street and that you panicked and fled because you were unlicenced.

8On 7 August of 2023 your father told police that you were driving when Caleb was struck and where the Mitsubishi was hidden.  Police subsequently located the vehicle at Campbell Street, Baddaginnie.  You were arrested that day and made a no comment record of interview.  You pleaded guilty to these charges immediately prior to a hand up committal on 12 June of this year.

9You have admitted a criminal record: On 5 December of 2017 you were released on a bond by Benalla Children's Court for driving a vehicle whilst causing loss of traction and failing to stop on police direction. You were before the Benalla Magistrates' Court on 20 June of 2023, on charges including drive while authorisation suspended and dangerous driving whilst pursued by police.  You were fined $5,000 and your licence cancelled and you were disqualified from driving for two years.  You have two other convictions for drive whilst disqualified, or whilst authorisation suspended, in June of 2023 and June of 2022.

10Victim impact statements were read and tendered from Caleb's mother, Michelle, and his brother Benjamin and sister They are Exhibits B, C
and D.  Each have understandably been shattered by Caleb's death.  They all live with the grief and anger and I take the contents of the victim impact statements into account in sentencing you.

11Turning to your personal circumstances.  You are now 24 years of age and you were 23 at the time of your offending.  You were born in 2000 and raised in Baddaginnie which is just west of Benalla.  Your parents separated when you were about six years of age.  Their relationship was plagued by domestic violence with your father being imprisoned in 2007 for violent offences.  He has a criminal history for violence and family violence.  Your mother in her reference outlines the horrific conduct of your father and your attempts to be the man of the family.  She also describes your declining mental health since the collision.  She says,

'He has told me that he replays it every night and doesn't sleep.  He has flashbacks whilst a passenger in my car.  Dylan has told me that he hates himself for not stopping.  That the further he drove the harder it was to turn back.  He says he doesn't understand why he didn't stop, go back.  Dylan's mental health is declining because I don't think he can forgive himself for his actions.'

12You were educated at Benalla to Year 10 level.  You then completed a Certificate II in Automotive before working in a sawmill for two years.  You spent a following two years working on an excavation company and eight months fruit picking.  You were working for Civilmart a precast concrete company for two years and a reference from production manager, Richard Young describes you as a reliable trustworthy and conscientious person.  At the time of these offences you had been working at an abattoir and traffic controlling.  You have not worked since this offending.  You had issues in the past with binge drinking alcohol and cannabis use between the ages of 16 and 18.  You then started using methamphetamine which you regularly used until this year.

13You have discovered an Aboriginal heritage and have been receiving drug and alcohol counselling from the Mungabareena Aboriginal Cooperative.  A reference from that organisation states,

'Dylan's relationship with drugs and alcohol has significantly improved whilst we have been working together and he has taken positive steps to better himself mentally and physically, which is a proactive approach to benefiting his situation.''

14You have also sought counselling from psychologist, Sarah Krueger to assist with your depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, subsequent to these offences. I refer also to Exhibit 3.  A report from Dr Sara Fratti, neuropsychologist, sets out a comprehensive history of your life and reports that you have expressed genuine remorse for your behaviour and its impact on your victim and his family.  She concludes:

'Mr Norman presents with several risk factors for recidivism, including a history of childhood maladjustment, behavioural challenges, substance use issues and prior offences, primarily related to reckless driving.  Whilst addressing his substance use problems would likely reduce his risk of reoffending, it would not completely eliminate it.  His success in reducing the risk of reoffending will be largely dependent on his willingness to engage in psychotherapy and appropriate AOD services.  Additionally, his ability to participate in meaningful activities, like returning to work and form positive relationships will be crucial for his long-term rehabilitation.  Ongoing psychological support to address his mental health and long-term history of behavioural challenges is strongly recommended.'

You need to address these issues whilst you are in custody.  Dr Fratti states that:

'In the likelihood of a custodial disposition, Mr Norman's mood may make certain aspects of prison environment more difficult for him than for a person of normal health.  As detailed above he presents with clinically significant symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety.  His stress levels are extremely elevated.  Such symptoms are likely to be exacerbated by the intrinsically threatening nature of the prison environment and as such in case of incarceration, close monitoring of his mental health by forensic health services is considered appropriate.'

I take Dr Fratti's report into account in sentencing you.

15The offences you have pleaded guilty to are serious criminal offences.  A young man has lost his life because of your dangerous behaviour.  This tragedy was totally avoidable.  You have demonstrated yourself to be a stupid and irresponsible menace on the roads.  You have ruined your life and the lives of your victim's family.  It can only be hoped that you develop responsibility and common sense in the coming years.

16You were a relatively young man when you offended.  The law recognises that young people sometimes make ill-considered and irresponsible choices. Such is clearly the case with you.  I have reduced the sentence I would otherwise impose to give recognition to your age and the principles as set out in the cases such as Azzopardiv The Queen [2011] VSCA 372.

17I also take into account your pleas of guilty which I accept were entered at in a relatively early stage.  Those pleas of guilty demonstrate your acceptance of responsibility for your offending.  The evidence what I accept is your remorse for your conduct. You have spared the community the time and expense of a criminal trial and your victim's family the trauma of such a trial.  You are entitled to a reduction in sentence to recognise the value of those pleas of guilty and I will return to the effect of that reduction subsequently.  I take into account your remorse as evidenced by the reference material and the neuropsychological report tendered.

18I have already referred to your youth but I must also consider your prospects of rehabilitation. Those prospects are somewhat gloomy. Your prior criminal history is concerning.  You need to address your substance abuse issues and develop responsibility and develop an appreciation for the consequences of your actions.  Your family support, the support of your partner, your employment history and the steps you have taken to obtain counselling provides some hope for your future prospects.  I have taken into account in a general way your disrupted and troubled childhood in assessing who you are and why you are like you are.  Again, maturity may finally assist you to sort your life out.

19I have also taken into account the contribution to the collision your victim Caleb made by running across the road in front of you.  Your moral culpability is reduced because of his conduct.  Your offence of dangerous driving causing death in my view represents a lower mid-level example of that offence taking all the circumstances into account.

20General deterrence is the paramount and significant sentencing factor in your case.  People who are minded to drive as you did in the conditions that are existed at the time, need to appreciate that they will go to gaol if their driving kills or seriously injures others.

21Dangerous driving causing death is a category 2 offence pursuant to the Sentencing Act.  Parliament has mandated that in the absence of circumstances that are rare, exceptional and compelling, a court must impose a term of imprisonment on an offender such as you.  Your counsel properly conceded that such a term of imprisonment is the only available option for your case.

22Your failure to stop after you struck Caleb was cowardly and contemptable.  The maximum penalty demonstrates just how seriously Parliament regards offending like that.  You knew you were a disqualified driver.  You knew you should not have been driving at all.  You knew you were driving irresponsibly and dangerously.  You were motivated by self-interest and self-protection.  You attempted to conceal your crime by tampering with evidence, that is the damage to your motor vehicle and that demonstrates your self-interested state of mind.

23The terms of imprisonment I am about to impose are not in any way a reflection of the value of Caleb's life.  No sentence could ever do that.  Sentencing's not about retribution or vengeance, it is governed by the legal considerations set out by law and in the Sentencing Act.

24I have had regard to principles of totality, cumulation and parsimony at arriving at an appropriate sentence for you in this case.  I have been careful to avoid double punishment for matters that are both separate offences and aggravating features of your offending.

25On all charges you are convicted.  On Charge 1 of failing to stop after a fatal accident you are sentenced to be imprisoned for two years.

26On Charge 2, concealing a thing to prevent its use in evidence, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for six months.

27On Charge 3, of dangerous driving causing death, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for three years.

28On the related summary offence of driving whilst disqualified you are sentenced to be imprisoned for three months.

29I order that one year of the sentence imposed on Charge 1 and one month of the sentence imposed on the related summary offence be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on Charge 3, which I declare to be the base sentence.

30That is an effective term of imprisonment of four years and one month and I order that you serve two years and nine months of that sentence before being eligible for parole. Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act I indicate that but for your pleas of guilty a term of imprisonment of six years with a non-parole period of four would have been imposed.

31On Charge 1, I cancel any licence you have to drive a motor vehicle and you are disqualified for four years from obtaining such a licence.  And on Charge 3, I make an order cancelling any such licence and you are disqualified for
18 months.

32I declare that three days of the sentence I have just imposed has already been served by way of pre-sentence detention. 

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