Director of Public Prosecutions v Townsend

[2015] VCC 1310

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 14-02181

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MICHAEL TOWNSEND

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MULLALY
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	17 September 2015
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 September 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Townsend
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 1310

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---

Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms C. Parkes	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms J Swiney	Mike Wardell

HIS HONOUR:

1Janette Humphrey was an active 72 year old woman.  She lived in a small community of Bunkers Hill outside Ballarat with her husband. They have been married for over 50 years.  On 10 October 2013, she drove from her home to the nearby general store to get the newspaper.  As she drove along Sago Hill Road and over the intersection with Bell Street, you Mr Townsend, came through that intersection without stopping and ploughed into her car.  Mrs Humphrey sustained serious injuries.  I will detail those shortly.  Suffice to say that her life changed at that point.  She is not the active woman she once was.

2You, Mr Townsend were 24 years old at the time.  You had done well completing an apprenticeship as a plumber and securing good work on large construction sites in and around your home town of Ballarat.  However, it seems a major project at Federation University in Ballarat had come to an end and you were looking for work.

3On 13 October 2013, you were driving your ute to Ararat for a job interview.  The roads you were taking, and in particular Bell Street, were not familiar to you.  As you drove, you were at some points speaking to your father on the phone.  For whatever reason, you were not paying sufficient attention to your surrounds.  You did not see a number of warning signs leading up to the stop sign that was facing you.  Those warning signs were there to be seen.

4You drove through the intersection unaware that you had to slow down and stop.  You hit Ms Humphrey's car at  high speed.  You were not exceeding the speed limits that applied to Bell Street, but that is not the point.  Your responsibility was to slow down from the speed limit and stop at the stop sign.  Yours was a loss of concentration.  Your counsel said, a momentary loss.

5But our community expects all drivers to be attentive to the many things that happen on busy roads or country roads.  The car is lethal if the driver is not concentrating so as to control and operate the vehicle to avoid avoidable collisions.  This was tragically so avoidable.  Falling below expected standards, even momentarily, brings life changing consequences for all affected.

6Mrs Humphrey sustained multiple serious and debilitating injuries.  In particular, she sustained fracture to the vertebrae in her neck.  Fractures to the lower vertebrae in her lower back.  Closed head injury involving haemorrhaging, bleeding on the brain, multiple fracture, rib fractures, collapsed lung, fractured pelvis and lacerations and bruising.

7She was in hospital in Melbourne for two months.  Her victim impact statement is very helpful and I must say, a measured account of a very significant pain she has endured, particularly with the halo she had to wear for over three months.  She has enduring pain in her lower back and is not as mobile and active and as strong as she once was.

8It is clear she is someone who gets on with things and puts up with discomforts.  But she finds that she is more irritable than before and she does not like how her condition has significantly affected her husband.  She concludes that before her accident, she was told that she looked and it seemed she felt much younger than her age, now she feels old. 

9Her husband drove to the scene on the morning of 13 October, as he was concerned when his wife did not return from the short journey to the general store.  The mental trauma he has suffered from what he saw and heard, the collision and thereafter, remains with him.  The medical treatment in hospital in Melbourne where his wife was, was also hard to cope with.  He has an anxiety of letting his wife go out in the car alone.  This causes difficulties for them.  No doubt, Mr and Mrs Humphrey were looking forward to many more easy years together as they grew older.  That is all not lost, but it is different now because of your driving Mr Townsend.

10You are wracked with remorse and have been so from the moment it happened.  That is a significant matter that I take into account in your favour.  You are a hardworking young man, have impressed your employers.  Your work history is to your credit.  You have one Children's Court driving matter, but otherwise, you are without a criminal history.  That too is to your credit, though as is often remarked upon in these cases, people who commit this crime are often of good character.

11You were raised in a decent family who stand by you.  You yourself are heading along the same path, marrying your long term partner in February of this year.  You have saved and have a house, but with a heavy mortgage.  You hope to start a family yourself in the future.  You have real potential.  I am confident you will be a working and family man contributing to your community.  You have learned a hard lesson and I am sure you will not be back before the courts.

12You sought a sentence indication.  I granted that on the basis of the materials that I have already discussed in these remarks.  I add though that our Court of Appeal has given Sentencing Judges important sentencing guidelines in the decision of Boulton & Ors v R. Also Parliament has amended the Sentencing Act to make it clear that gaol is very much the punishment of last resort.

13The new regime of lengthy community corrections orders can both punish and facilitate rehabilitation simultaneously.  Here, I can give you what I think the community would be comfortable with.  That is, a second chance, for a young man who made one awful mistake and is profoundly sorry for it.  Your plea of guilty means your sentence in length and type will be less severe, than if you pleaded not guilty and were found guilty of this offence.  Had you assessed for a community corrections order and you were suitable.

14The prosecution says that you are on the cusp of incarceration.  In my view, you were - should you falter on this community corrections order, you should expect that the mercy you've shown here will not be repeated.  You will have your licence affected for the minimum of 18 months.  I know this creates very significant difficulties for you, in working in the sorts of jobs you do, but the law makes it mandatory that you must be off the road.  You will simply have to adjust your work arrangements.

15For committing the crime of negligently causing serious injury by your driving to Janette Humphrey, I order that you do a two year and six month community corrections order.  There will be certain conditions that apply to that, they will be outlined to you.  In brief terms, you must do 200 hours of unpaid community work and you must do programs as directed by the Office of Corrections, to reduce your risk of re-offending.  That will relate in your case to road trauma courses which you will have to fund.

16In respect of your licence, your licence is cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for 18 months.  Had you pleaded not guilty to these offences and been found guilty of them, I would have imposed a sentence of one year of imprisonment together with a community corrections order.  Are there any other orders required?

17MS PARKES: Your Honour, in relation to the order under s.89 of the Sentencing Act, it appears that this offence falls within the category of 24 months rather than 18 months. It is specified at the bottom of the section. The 18 months appears to apply to dangerous driving causing death and serious injury.

18HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Well you heard that Mr Townsend.  It is a difficult thing.  The community quite often asks for the discretion of Judges to be taken away and to be mandatory.  I do not think they quite understand what that really means.  But it means here that I have no choice.  You have got to be off the road for two years. 

19OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

20HIS HONOUR:  Had you committed the offence of dangerous driving causing death and I dealt with those cases recently, then 18 months applies.  But in your case, two years.  There is nothing I can do about it.

21OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

22HIS HONOUR:  But I warrant that that will be a hard punishment for you.  Is there anything further?

23MS PARKES:  No, Your Honour.

24MS SWINEY:  No, Your Honour.

25HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Take a seat.  What is now done is a document is produced which will set out various conditions that attach to this community corrections order and if you consent to such an order, sign that document, it will bring the matter to an end.  I apologise to the informant for not waiting until he arrived, I did not realise he was wishing to come back.  Yes, the sentencing remarks, brief as they were, will be available in the next few days.

26MS PARKES:  Thank you, Your Honour.

27HIS HONOUR:  In writing.  Mr Townsend, the order that I made is for 30 months, it starts today and goes till 16 March 2018.  Well you will be nearly 30 before that happens, but there it is.  These are the mandatory terms that apply to anyone on a community corrections order.  Most importantly, you must not commit any offence for which you could be imprisoned during the time that the order is in force.

28Almost every offence you can think of is punishable by imprisonment.  Do not commit any offence during the time of this community corrections order.  Of course, do not commit any offence again.  But please do not think that you can just sneak out in your car to cover off something that needs to be done in emergency.  If you do have a child and there has got to be something got or - just get a friend, get a cab, just do not drive.

29You must report to and receive visits from the Office of Corrections.  You must report to the Community Corrections Centre, that is the Ballarat Community Corrections Centre at 206 Mair Street Ballarat within two clear working days of this order starting.  So get amongst that tomorrow, the latest on Monday.

30You must let the community corrections officer know within two clear working days if you change your address or your job.  So keep them informed of where you have got a job and the like.  You must not leave Victoria without getting permission, that is even for a trip over the border for a short break.  Again, just keep them informed.  You must obey all lawful instructions and directions from the Office of Corrections.

31Those are the conditions that apply to everyone.  What applies to you is 200 hours of unpaid work over the 30 months.  I will just pause there for a moment.  Not everyone that are put on these orders are perhaps as stable and as dedicated to doing the right thing as I expect you will be.  You cannot be influenced by them.  You must turn up on time, do the full amount until you are allowed to go.  Get it done quickly and it will be over.

32You must in addition participate in programs and courses to address the factors relating to your offending, that is road trauma, awareness program.  As your counsel pointed out, you know full well the sort of trauma, but listen to what they say and within reason spread the message.  You sign that, then as I say, you will be free to go.

33MS SWINEY:  May I approach the dock, Your Honour?

34HIS HONOUR:  Yes certainly.  You will get a copy of that in due course.  I thank counsel for their significant assistance in respect of this matter and if the informant could pass on, if it is appropriate, my gratitude to the dignity with which the victims have dealt with this matter.

35MS PARKES:  Yes, Your Honour.

36HIS HONOUR:  I have not met them or seen them or the like, but I just sense it in the way that things have flown and in the victim impact statements that they have provided and I also indicate that appreciative of the dignity shown by those connected with Mr Townsend.

37MS PARKES:  Thank you, Your Honour.

‑ ‑ ‑