Director of Public Prosecutions v Wicks

[2025] VCC 869

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

 Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

CR-24-00097

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JAMES WICKS

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE BLAIR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	29 April 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	23 June 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Wicks
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 869

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW – Sentencing

Catchwords:              Dangerous driving causing injury - conduct endangering another person – driving in a manner dangerous to the public – using an unregistered motor vehicle and trailer – early plea of guilty – remorse – Akoka time – family hardship

Legislation Cited: ss 5(1), 6AAA Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)

Cases Cited:Board v The Queen [2013] VSCA 190, Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 342, Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37, DPP v Stephens [2016] VSCA 121, DPP v Kenneison [2023] VSCA 321, Markovic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105, R v Verdins [2007] VSCA 102.

Sentence:Total Effective Sentence of 4 months imprisonment and Community Correction Order of 2 years. Disqualification and Cancelation of Driver’s Licence for 18 months.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms Deplar	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr G. Chipkin	Emma Turnbull Lawyers

HER HONOUR:

1James Wicks, on 15 October 2024 you were arraigned and pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury and one charge of conduct endangering another person.

2You also agreed to this court hearing two related summary offences. You pleaded guilty to one rolled-up charge of driving in a manner dangerous to the public and one charge of using an unregistered motor vehicle and trailer.

Circumstances of offending

3The full circumstances of your offending are outlined in the summary of prosecution opening dated 7 June 2024. This document was tendered on the plea and what follows is necessarily a summary of that.  

4On 29 November 2022 at approximately 12:00pm, you were driving a white Hino truck which had a chipper trailer. The truck and trailer were both unregistered at the time of the collision. Sitting in the front passenger seat was your co-worker, Jacob Watt. You had both just completed a tree lopping job in Ringwood East and were driving along Canterbury Road in Montrose.

5Mr Watt had asked you some questions and you did not respond. Mr Watt considered that your behaviour was manic and that you were driving in an erratic manner. You were travelling on York Road and approached a traffic light-controlled intersection at Wray Crescent in Mt Evelyn. You drove through a red light and were travelling in the right lane.

6Robert Trainer had turned into the left lane of York Road and was travelling beside you when you both approached a roundabout at Monbulk Road. You changed lanes and Mr Trainer had to hit his brakes to avoid a collision. Your trailer swiped the right side of Mr Trainer's vehicle which caused minor damage. He followed you in an attempt to get your registration.

7You turned right into Monbulk Road from the left lane of the roundabout before turning left onto Clegg Road. Mr Watt continued to observe you driving erratically, overtaking unsafely around bends and driving on and off the wrong side of the road. You drove closely behind Cindy Peterson who recalls you 'travelling really fast'. She said that you were driving so close to her that she was surprised you did not hit her. You overtook Ms Peterson and she observed that you had a 'hyperactive look on [your] face'.

8You continued to drive and went over the white solid line onto the wrong side of the road as you approached the intersection of Wellington Road. Hardy Nagel was travelling on that side of the road and was forced to brake and steer off the road into the gravel edge to avoid your truck. Mr Nagel described that his 'heart was racing', he 'was shaking a bit' and he thought about the incident quite a lot since it happened.

9You continually went over the solid white line moving from left to right before travelling east at the roundabout at Warburton Highway in Wandin. This section of the road is a single carriageway with a 60-kilometre speed limit. There are a number of residential driveways and a nursing home driveway along this length of road.

10You continued to travel along the Warburton Highway in Seville and you continued to cross onto the wrong side of the road over double white lines. As you approached the town of Seville at the Russell Road intersection, you drove onto the wrong side of the road toward a blue Subaru wagon driven by Suzy Young. Ms Young had to take immediate action, crossing over to the left of the two lanes to avoid a head-on collision. Ms Young said her 'heart was racing, beating hard and [she] had the shakes immediately after'. In the few days since the accident, she had not been sleeping well as she was reliving the image of the truck coming toward her. Ms Young was concerned for the lady who was involved in the collision.

11Mr Trainer, who had followed you and continued to observe your driving, said you drove through the main street of Seville 'like a maniac'. He observed there were quite a few cars at the time of day and some of those cars had got on their horns as you passed and cut them off. He phoned Triple 0 and told the operator that he thought you were going to kill someone with the way you were driving.

12You crossed back over to the left side of the road and continued travelling toward the Warburton Highway and Station Road roundabout. You travelled behind a blue Toyota wagon driven by David Eastham. You sped toward Mr Eastham's vehicle and in response Mr Eastham mounted the centre of the roundabout to avoid you colliding with the rear of his car.

13You continued to drive along Warburton Highway toward Seville East. You were travelling toward the intersection of Douthie Road, which is an 80K posted speed zone. You crossed to the wrong side of the road, about 100 metres from the intersection. At this time several witnesses were travelling behind you.

14These witnesses observed a red Nissan four-wheel drive wagon driving ahead of you, go to turn right onto Douthie Road. You were still on the wrong side of the road when the vehicle Ms VanBeek was driving turned. Mr Watts said to you, 'what the fuck are you doing?' but you did not respond and continued to move to the right. You collided into the driver side door of Ms VanBeek's vehicle. This caused her to lose control of the car and pushed her vehicle 42.6 metres onto a raised embankment on the western side of the road.  Your truck and trailer veered back onto the left side of the road and rolled onto its right side before coming to a stop approximately 30 metres from the intersection.

15The doors of Ms VanBeek's car were removed for her to be extracted from the damaged vehicle. Ms VanBeek was treated on the scene by paramedics before being airlifted in a critical condition to the Alfred Hospital. Ms VanBeek sustained bleeding to her liver, a punctured lung, 11 broken ribs, extensive pelvic fractures, a broken ankle, a fractured right shoulder, a right L2-L4 transverse process fracture, a collapsed and bruised lung, a Grade 4 liver injury, an injury to her spleen, bleeding within her peritoneal cavity and a large haematoma on her right leg. She was treated at both the Alfred Hospital and Epworth Rehabilitation Hospital and was discharged on 7 March 2023. On 11 July 2023 her general practitioner advised that Ms VanBeek had undergone multiple surgeries, she was still experiencing pain to her right shoulder, right thoracic wall and left ankle. Ms VanBeek had severe restriction of movement of her right upper limb and was undergoing physiotherapy and hydrotherapy weekly, was using analgesics and was waiting to see a surgeon for assessment of the right upper limb movement.

16In her statement to police made on 14 March 2023, Ms VanBeek said, 'I was in a lot of pain as a result of the accident. It was excruciating pain. I thought I was going to die. It was the worst pain'. At the time of making that statement she also said, 'I am currently using crutches and a walking frame to get around as I'm unable to walk unaided at the moment. I'm doing physio a few times a week. I still have wounds that need to be dressed every second day by a nurse. I feel it's had a huge impact on my life.'

17You sustained soreness to your right shoulder and nose. You were transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where a blood sample was taken. Methylamphetamine and amphetamine were detected in your blood.

18There was major damage to both vehicles as a result of the collision.

19On 2 December 2022 you were arrested and interviewed by the police. During this interview amongst other things you stated:

'We finished a job off in Ringwood East that morning, I think I finished about five o'clock, something. That's all I remember, and don't remember anything else after that, just a couple of flashbacks, looking up at the truck. Jacob was above me in the truck. Apparently, I had methamphetamine in my system. I don't recall having any.'

20He said he and his partner had recently separated, he had been sleeping in his truck, he might have taken drugs, but he could not remember.

'I don't understand why – why I've done this shit, like, I don't go round the roundabout fast because I know it will tip over the truck. I sure to hell don't drive like - I don't recall any of it. I – I don't – I don't – I never drive like this. I wouldn't even dream of driving like this, I don't know why – why it's happened especially if I had a friend in the car, but I was really, really struggling, you know, trying to   with all of this. That's all I can put it down to, like, just – just had a meltdown, I don't know, but I don't recall any of this and I don't know how I don't recall it, and 'I'm fucking disgusted. I just don't know why it happened.'

Victim Impact Statement

21A victim impact statement from Belinda VanBeek was tendered on your plea. It is a heart wrenching and eloquently written document detailing the life changing outcome of this collision. Ms VanBeek detailed her harrowing experience and the many ways the lives of her and her family have been negatively impacted since.

22Ms VanBeek described the excruciating pain she experienced during the 98 days in hospital following the accident. She felt as though she was going to die, managing what felt like endless surgeries, a never-ending cycle of fatigue and pain and feeling helpless and degraded as a result of being confined to her bed.

23Ms VanBeek's mobility has been so limited that she has not been able to return to work. She was once a confident and cautious driver but now she is a driver who can travel no more than 15 minutes from her home due to her anxiety and ongoing fatigue. This has placed an enormous strain on Ms VanBeek's family. Her husband, who is a self-employed concreter, was forced to put his work on hold to travel to and from the hospital to visit Ms VanBeek and care for their three children.

24Ms VanBeek's son Lachlan suffers from severe autism. Ms VanBeek is no longer able to engage in activities or care for Lachlan for risk of further injury. This has been difficult for Lachlan who did not attend school for over a month due to increased behavioural issues. Ms VanBeek does not feel as though she can plan for the future and finds life significantly harder than before the accident.

25I take into account the contents of Ms VanBeek's victim impact statement in sentencing you today.

26Although the five other road users who took evasive action have not made victim impact statements, I accept that they have all been impacted by your driving. Mr Nagel, for example, was shaking, had a racing heart and has thought about the incident a lot since. Ms Young said her heart was racing and beating hard and she had the shakes. Further, she said she struggled to sleep in the nights following the incident, and Mr Trainer expressed his disbelief at what he witnessed, and his heart was in his throat as he watched what went on.

Personal Circumstances

27You were born in April 1979 in Ferntree Gully, and you are now 46 years old. At the time of your offending in November 2022 you were 43 years old.

28You were raised in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, firstly in Ferntree Gully and then the Dandenong Ranges. You have a brother and sister with whom you maintain some contact. During your childhood you generally enjoyed good health.

29At the age of eight your parents separated, and you and your siblings moved to Bairnsdale with your mother. You maintained contact with your father during this time. Your stepfather came into your life when you were 12 years old. He was abusive, controlling and violent. You were the victim of considerable abuse at his hands. At the age of 16 you made the difficult decision to leave the family home to escape the repeated violence and coercive control of this man. Your relationship with your mother remains 'fractured' as a result. You have not had contact with her for around 16 years.

30Upon leaving home you lived in a hostel for 12 months before moving to live with your father in Warburton. Your father had re-married, and you enjoyed a positive relationship with his new wife with whom you maintain contact. Sadly, your father passed away in 2016.

31In terms of education, you attended primary school in Dandenong and later Bairnsdale. You attended Bairnsdale Secondary College and although you did not pass Years 7 or 8 you were promoted to Year 9. You left school at the end of that year. You did not do well academically or socially, although your attendance was good. You displayed some rebellious behaviours which led to suspensions, and you have not maintained any friends from secondary school.

32Your first paid job was as a small engine mechanic working after school and during holidays for 12 months. You have also worked at a service station and did some seasonal work on farms and as a fibreglass boat builder for a few years. Your main occupation has been as an arborist. You have worked for 17 to 18 years in the tree removal industry, mostly in a self-employed capacity.

33Throughout your adult life you have had three significant relationships. The first of those was when you were 17 years old, and you lived in Eagle Point together with your partner for three years. After this relationship broke down you moved to Bairnsdale.

34At the age of 20 you began your next relationship which lasted for two years. Together you had a son who is now 18 years old. Your relationship ended and you did not maintain a relationship with your son as contact was made difficult.

35Next, you began a relationship with your current partner, Jasmina Pavlov. Together you lived in Croydon with Jasmina's parents while you ran your own tree removal business. You have two boys, Lachlan aged 17 and Jack aged 11. Lachlan has ADHD and a mild intellectual disability. He currently attends TAFE after leaving special schooling. Jack also has ADHD.

36Your relationship with Jasmina has persisted for 18 years, however, you have separated twice during this time. The first separation occurred some three to four years ago and a family violence intervention order was issued following an argument regarding your substance abuse. You were evicted from the family home and slept in your truck. The second separation occurred just before the collision giving rise to the charges before the court. I will return to the issues this raised for you shortly.

37Substance abuse has plagued your life since your teenage years. You began drinking alcohol to excess and this impacted your ability to gain and maintain employment. Throughout 2004, 2005 and 2008 your alcohol consumption brought you into contact with the criminal justice system. You were dealt with on several occasions for drink driving, also dangerous driving, assaults, recklessly cause injury, damaging property and other offences. In 2008 you were sentenced to home detention which you breached in the context of a relapse into alcohol use. You spent four months in prison which you found incredibly difficult. You were stood over by other prisoners and contemplated suicide.

38Your addiction to alcohol continued and in 2012 you received a community correction order for a charge of recklessly cause injury. A condition of this order was that you undergo residential rehabilitation at The Basin. You attended The Basin and successfully completed an episode of inpatient care. According to the Corrections pre-sentence report recently received by the court, you successfully completed this order. For the next eight years you maintained abstinence from alcohol.

39Your use of illicit drugs started with the occasional use of cannabis during your teenage years, and you graduated to the use of amphetamines during your 20s. Your use of methamphetamine started in 2016, around four years after your stay at The Basin and following the death of your father. You have used methamphetamine 'on and off' since this time.  Your use has fluctuated with periods of heavy consumption followed by periods of less intense usage. You tried to hide your use from Jasmina, but this was difficult because at times you broke out in sores on your face, arms and hands. You struggled to work without using the drug and your mental health deteriorated.

40Your mental health had been problematic from a young age with you being diagnosed with ADHD as a youth and depression and anxiety in early adulthood. It was not until you commenced methamphetamine use that your mental health plummeted. In the psychiatric assessment conducted by Dr Remy Glowinski from Forensicare, you described that ice changed you as a person, you felt isolated and anxious.

41In 2019 you were admitted as a psychiatric inpatient to Maroondah Hospital for three weeks due to a drug-induced psychosis. You had thought everyone was trying to kill you and had ended up on a roof of a two-storey building and the police were called. You did not receive psychiatric follow-up after discharge from hospital. Your GP continued to prescribe the Olanzapine which had been commenced in hospital, and you were abstinent for a short time but relapsed into methamphetamine use. You managed to work and maintain your relationship with Jasmina whilst hiding your drug use.  

Lead-up to the offending

42Your continued drug use eventually took its toll on your relationship with Jasmina, and in August 2022 you were dealt with at Ringwood Magistrates Court for a charge of persistent contravention of a family violence order. You received a good behaviour bond with a special condition that you continue to engage with your GP for mental health treatment. This was only three months prior to the offending now before the court.

43At the time you offended you were in a state of personal crisis due to the complete breakdown of your relationship with Jasmina. In her report dated 11 June 2024 Gina Cidoni described your situation as follows:

'According to Mr Wicks, he had an argument with his partner two weeks prior. He subsequently moved out and lived in his car. He was parking in his truck in public parks, using public facilities and bathing in creeks and rivers. He did not have access to his usual medications during this time and a few days before the accident he had used methamphetamine. He was experiencing lapses in memory, poor quality sleep and nutrition, along with paranoid and other psychotic symptoms. On the day of the incident, he drove to work in Ringwood but has no memory of driving down the driveway until the collision. After the collision, he remembers waking up screaming in his truck and then waking up in Royal Melbourne Hospital.'

44This explanation for the offending was corroborated by Jasmina in her letter to the court dated 25 June 2024.

45Your passenger, Jacob Watt, who had worked with you on and off for six years knew of your relationship problems. He knew you had been sleeping in your truck and that you were sleep deprived. At the time of driving, he said you appeared manic and erratic. You were non-responsive to his questions. He said you were 'definitely conscious the whole time, but the lights were on and nobody was home'. He observed that you drove erratically. When he saw the four-wheel drive turning right into Douthie Road you were travelling at a hundred kilometres an hour and you were trying to overtake.  He said, 'what the fuck are you doing?' You did not respond or brake and crashed into the side of the four-wheel drive. Although Mr Watts knew you to be an ice user, he was not sure if you had used the drug that day and it was his opinion that your driving was out of character.

Nature and Gravity of offending

46Dangerous driving causing serious injury is an inherently serious offence ordinarily resulting in a significant term of imprisonment being imposed.[1] The gravity of such offending is heavily influenced by the offender's moral culpability and the objective dangerousness of their driving.[2] The extent to which the offender ought to have foreseen the consequences of their driving behaviour will inform a court's assessment of moral culpability. An offender will have a higher moral culpability when they knew the risks associated with their driving behaviour. They would have lower moral culpability if the accident occurred because of momentary inattention or misjudgement or where external circumstances such as the poor design of an intersection contributed to the accident. The degree of dangerousness of the offender's driving is assessed by reference to the extent of risk that it creates. The extent of risk includes both the likelihood that something will go wrong, and the extent of harm which will result if it does.[3]

[1]DPP v Kenneison [2023] VSCA 321.

[2] DPP v Oates [2007] VSCA 59, DPP v Neethling (2009) 22 VR 466, 472, Board v The Queen [2013] VSCA 190, Stephens v The Queen [2016] VSCA 121.

[3]Board v The Queen [2013] VSCA 190, Stephens v The Queen [2016] VSCA 121.

47In your case you face charges of conduct endangering serious injury and dangerous driving causing serious injury which both have a five-year maximum penalty. In addition, you face a rolled-up charge of dangerous driving which has a two-year maximum penalty and driving an unregistered vehicle has a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.

48On 29 November 2022, you were driving a heavy vehicle, a truck with a wood- chipper in tow that was unregistered. You had methamphetamine in your system, and you were driving when fatigued and stressed. Your driving occurred in built-up areas and there was a reasonable amount of traffic on the roads.

49The rolled-up dangerous driving charge occurred over approximately half an hour. Your driving was erratic and objectively dangerous. At least five other drivers had to take evasive action. You went through a red light, you drove close behind other vehicles, you drove over solid white lines onto the wrong side of the road, you caused other drivers to brake and steer off the road, you crossed onto the wrong side of the road over double white lines, you overtook on bends when it was unsafe, you cut off vehicles at a roundabout and one driver had to mount the roundabout to avoid you.  Your driving could only be described as a grave departure from the standard of care expected and required of a driver. It was outrageous. In my view this is a serious example of dangerous driving that created significant risk of considerable harm to other road users.

50Your driving culminated in the collision which gives rise to the charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury and the risk of harm you presented was realised. This collision occurred when you were travelling at speed on the wrong side of the road across double white lines. You failed to give way to Ms VanBeek as she was turning right. This caused catastrophic and life changing consequences for Ms VanBeek. She was airlifted from the scene in a critical condition and has suffered immeasurable pain and suffering. Although I must not punish you twice for the dangerous driving that led to the point of collision, it does inform the objective seriousness of the charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

51The charge of conduct endangering serious injury arises from the same course of driving. However, I recognise that this charge relates to a separate victim, Jacob Watt. I cannot overlook Mr Watt as a victim.

52Objectively, I consider this to be a very serious episode of offending.

53In terms of your moral culpability, in his report dated 8 July 2023, your treating psychologist, Murray Coventry, raised that you may have been psychotic at the time of driving given your poor mental state and the fact that you were experiencing paranoia and other psychotic features that negatively affected your cognitive function and decision-making capacity. He suggested that a psychiatric opinion was warranted to explore the potential impact the cessation of antipsychotic medication may have had on your mental state at the relevant time.

54Accordingly, I sought a psychiatric report from Forensicare and received two reports from Dr Remy Glowinski. Initially, Dr Glowinski failed to consider the issue, and a supplementary report was requested and provided. I am mindful that Dr Glowinski stated that he has some expertise in the area but was not able to provide definitive comments on the issue. It was his view that acute intoxication with amphetamines was a more likely explanation for your behaviour disturbance than the abrupt cessation of Olanzapine. He conceded it was difficult to know to what extent the continued use of Olanzapine might have prevented or mitigated the behaviour disturbance due to methamphetamine.

55Given the state of the evidence, I do not consider that you were psychotic at the time you offended. However, I accept that you offended at a time when you were in a state of extreme despair, you were unmedicated, had been living rough and were clearly unstable. The observations of your passenger, Mr Watts, who is a person who knows you well, are in my view very important. He described that you were manic, you were non-responsive, and you were erratic. He considered the episode of driving to be out of character in circumstances where he knew you to be a user of methamphetamine.

56In your record of interview with police you were at a loss to explain why you drove in this manner on this day, and you said you were having a meltdown and that you were disgusted by what you had done.

57In all the circumstances, I accept that you did not set out to drive in this manner on this day, you were overcome by circumstances and were likely impacted by the lack of antipsychotic medication, situational personal crisis and the combined impact of methamphetamine use, rough living, lack of sleep and poor nutrition. In these circumstances I find there is some reduction in your moral culpability.

Verdins

58Your counsel, Mr Chipkin, submitted that each of the principles in Verdins[4] was enlivened in your case and should serve as a moderating factor on sentence. To make good his submission he noted that you have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, substance abuse disorder and PTSD. In particular, he relied upon excerpts from the report of Gina Cidoni dated 11 June 2024 where she opined:

'Mr Wicks was affected by methamphetamine use and intense situational stress related to his relationship breakdown, homelessness, and living in his truck at the time of the offence. This combination likely contributed to an adjustment disorder characterised by poor coping mechanisms under stress. His substance use impaired his judgment and increased impulsivity, directly influencing his driving and involvement in the MVA.'

[4] R v Verdins [2007] VSCA 102.

59And:

'Imprisonment is likely to be particularly burdensome for Mr Wicks due to his diagnosed PTSD and history of substance use disorder. The restrictive and potentially triggering environment of prison could exacerbate his PTSD symptoms, such as intrusive memories, hypervigilance, and emotional dysregulation. The lack of control over his environment, separation from supportive relationships like his partner Jasmine and her family, and potential exposure to stressful stimuli in prison may further challenge his ability to cope effectively. Without adequate support and therapeutic interventions tailored to his PTSD, there is a risk that his mental health could deteriorate during imprisonment, potentially impacting his overall well-being and rehabilitation progress.'

60Ms Hogan for the prosecution submitted that the Verdins principles do not apply to reduce moral culpability or moderate general and specific deterrence in your case. Ms Hogan submitted that Ms Cidoni's opinion is that it was your substance use that impaired your judgment and not your anxiety or depression. She submitted there was no contribution or connection established between your anxiety and depression, and your offending.

61Ms Hogan conceded that Limb 5 was enlivened but not Limb 6.

62In my view your poor mental health and your drug use are inextricably linked. In these circumstances I am unable to find on balance that you were suffering a mental impairment independently from the effects of drug use that would allow me to make a finding that Verdins Limbs 1 to 4 are enlivened to reduce your moral culpability. I do, however, consider that the opinions of Ms Cidoni, Mr Coventry, and to a degree Dr Glowinski, who each find that you  have suffered from PTSD albeit that the condition is improving. You have also suffered from depression and anxiety which I take into account.

63I find on balance that Limbs 5 and 6 of Verdins are enlivened given the opinion of Ms Cidoni. I accept given your current mental state and your previous experience of gaol, a term of imprisonment would be particularly onerous for you and would represent a significant risk to your mental health. I intend to mitigate your sentence accordingly.

Bugmy

64Mr Chipkin on your behalf submitted that through your childhood there were features of deprivation and disadvantage including parental separation and the infliction of domestic violence at the hands of your stepfather, that enlivened the principles in Bugmy.[5] Although I accept that you have not had an easy upbringing, I do not accept that such factors rise to the level required to enliven Bugmy. I do accept that these factors have had an impact upon you and are likely responsible for your decline into alcohol and drug use and the consequent difficulties this has brought about with regards to your mental health and in your life more generally. I have taken this into account.

[5] Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 37.

Response to the offending

65As a result of the collision your business folded as your truck was destroyed. Fortunately, Jasmina asked you to move back home after your release from hospital so that you could work on your relationship. This was conditional upon you seeking help for your drug use and mental health.

66You commenced seeing Murray Coventry, psychologist, in January 2023 and have seen him consistently since that time. At the time of the initial plea hearing in October 2024 you had seen him on 16 occasions, and I understand your attendance has continued. Mr Coventry describes you as attentive, compliant, adherent to guidance and treatment. Your symptoms of PTSD have improved and your motivation for change is strong.

67From 9 October 2023 to 9 January 2024, you voluntarily underwent a second episode of inpatient care at The Basin. This time the focus of your residential rehabilitation was to address your methamphetamine addiction. You successfully completed the four-month program and maintain it has helped you remain clear from illicit substances. Necessarily, this time had restrictive and punitive aspects in addition to its rehabilitative focus. It was submitted that I should take this time into account pursuant to the principles in Akoka v The Queen.[6] Although this time does not represent or equate with pre-sentence detention, I agree it is time that should be taken into account as part of the instinctive synthesis of sentencing and also as a means to encourage both you and others in your position to participate in such programs.

[6]Akoka v The Queen [2017] VSCA 217.

68Since 29 November 2022 you have not used methamphetamine. It is impressive that you are able to prove this by evidence in the form of clear drug screens. In addition, you attend Narcotics Anonymous from time to time. On my calculation you have now been abstinent for 31 months.

69You have maintained employment post-offending. Despite limited job opportunities following the loss of your driver's licence and truck, you have continued to work one to two days a week for tree removal companies. The owner of Grindaway Tree Services, Lee Coulson, for whom you work as a subcontractor, described you as showing great work ethic. Mr Coulson writes that you demonstrate the skills and experience to complete jobs on time and have gained the respect of all employees you work with.

70The updated letter from Jasmina dated 5 January 2025 describes your new routines and role within the family. In the mornings you get both children ready for school, making their lunches and packing their bags. You walk your youngest son to and from school and spend quality time with both your children in the evenings and on weekends. You are now a very hands-on and present parent.

71Importantly, your relationship with Jasmina has been repaired and you are now supportive of each other.

72In my view these factors combine to provide the court with confidence that you not only have the ability to reform, but you have demonstrated your commitment and motivation towards this goal. I consider you have very positive prospects for rehabilitation.

Plea of Guilty

73You indicated your intention to plead guilty to the charges very early in proceedings at committal mention stage. No witnesses were cross-examined and have therefore been spared the trauma of reliving the incident through giving evidence. You have also spared the court the time and cost of a trial, and in this way you have facilitated the course of justice. I consider your plea of guilty has significant utilitarian value and I have discounted your sentence accordingly.

Remorse

74Mr Chipkin submitted that you are extremely remorseful for your offending.  This submission was supported by various sources of evidence.  First, your plea of guilty. Next, your admissions in your record of interview. Third, your expressions of remorse repeated in the reports of Ms Cidoni, Mr Coventry and Dr Glowinski and each of the letters tendered on your behalf.  Fourth, the Community Corrections assessor considered you expressed strong remorse for your actions and acknowledged the impacts to the primary victim and other road users. And lastly, I watched you in court during each of the plea hearings. I can see that you have taken this matter very seriously.

75In my view the most significant expression of your remorse is that you have participated in counselling with Mr Coventry, you have undergone inpatient rehabilitation, and you have demonstrated your abstinence from drug use since the date of the offending. Mr Wicks, you have taken the very important step of accepting responsibility for your offending, you are undertaking treatment to deal with the difficult issues that led you to offend, and you are now abstinent from drug use.  I accept your remorse is both profound and genuine.

Family hardship

76Your counsel relied on evidence from Gina Cidoni that your children would struggle in your absence. On the state of the evidence before me, I accept that hardship would result as a consequence of your incarceration and consequent separation from Jasmina and your children, but I do not consider that this rises to the level of exceptional circumstances required for the exercise of mercy.  I do, however, take such hardship into account in a general way.

77The Court of Appeal made clear in the case of Markovic,[7] the effect upon an offender of such hardship can cause any term of imprisonment to be more burdensome.  I accept that in your case separation from your family and your children would increase the burden of imprisonment.

[7] Markovic v The Queen [2010] VSCA 105.

Sentencing principles

78The basic purposes for which a court may impose a sentence are just punishment, general and specific deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community.

79The principles of totality, proportionality and parsimony are also important considerations. They require me to make sure the punishment imposed fits the crime committed and that I do no more than is necessary to punish you for your offending. I have taken these principles into consideration in fixing the sentence I will now impose.

80I also take into account the sentencing guidelines referred to in s5 of the Sentencing Act,[8] where relevant in your case. In particular, I have had regard to the sentencing landscape for the offence of dangerous driving causing serious injury. Ultimately the sentencing exercise requires that I balance all relevant factors and make a judgment as to the appropriate sentence in the circumstances of your particular case.

[8] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 5.

81Ms Hogan for the prosecution submitted that it was open to the court to impose a combination penalty, that is, a term of imprisonment and a community correction order. Ms Hogan submitted your offending was too serious for a community correction order alone.

82Mr Chipkin submitted the appropriate disposition was a community correction order. He submitted this was so when the following factors from the guideline judgment in Boulton[9] were properly considered:

(a)   A CCO is a flexible sentencing option that can be imposed for relatively serious offences that would have previously attracted substantial terms of imprisonment;

(b)   A CCO is a particularly important sentencing option in the case of younger offenders where there is greater emphasis upon rehabilitation;

(c)   A CCO is intrinsically punitive and, depending on the length of the order and the nature and extent of the conditions imposed, it is capable of being highly punitive;

(d)   A CCO can provide substantial general and specific deterrence through the imposition of restrictive, coercive and prohibitive conditions; and

(e)   A CCO demands an offender take responsibility for their behaviour, engage in treatment and positive activities, and refrain from undesirable conduct.

[9] Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 342.

Disposition

83I have given this matter anxious consideration. I have taken into account the dangerous and outrageous manner in which you drove on this day in November 2022.  I have taken into account the risk you created for other road users and your passenger Mr Watt and the significant and life changing injuries that have been afflicted upon Ms VanBeek.

84I have also taken into account the situational personal crisis which was occurring for you at the time of your offending. Your rehabilitative response which includes the attendance with Mr Coventry, inpatient treatment at The Basin, your demonstrated 31-month abstinence from ice, and your improved family relationships and the support you enjoy in the community, are also factors to which I have had regard. I have considered your background, your mental health struggles, your prior history, the burdensome nature of incarceration for you, your early plea and your profound and genuine remorse.

85It is my view when weighing all of these factors your driving on this occasion was too objectively serious because of the risks involved and the risk that was realised that the court must denounce and condemn your behaviour. I must send the message to you and others that driving in this manner will not be tolerated by our community. To this end I consider it appropriate to impose a combination sentence. Were it not for your compelling plea material I would have imposed a longer term of imprisonment.

86Now, Mr Wicks, you can remain seated.

87You are convicted of each the charges. So in relation to the charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, conduct endangering serious injury and the rolled- up charge of dangerous driving, I impose an aggregate term of four months.  In addition, on all charges, including the charge of driving an unregistered motor vehicle and other charges, you are ordered to undertake a community correction order for two years. This is a lengthy period of time and significant punishment in and of itself. The conditions of the community correction order include:

(a)   Supervision

(b)   Assessment and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse

(c)   Assessment and treatment for mental health, and

(d)   Offending programs in particular the Road Trauma Awareness Seminar.

88In addition to the conditions that I have imposed, there are standard conditions that you must comply with.  The first and foremost is that you are not to commit any offences punishable by imprisonment during the two-year period of the community correction order.  This order will hang over your head for the next two years. 

89You need to report within two working days after release from custody to your nearest Corrections office, which is the Lilydale Corrections office.

90You are required to advise your supervising Corrections office of any change of address of where you are living or working within two clear working days, and it is a term of all community correction orders that you must submit to visits as directed and obey the instructions and directions of the Corrections officer.  You cannot leave the state of Victoria without their prior permission.

91Mr Wicks, if you reoffend you will breach the Correction order.  You will also breach the Correction order if you do not comply with the conditions that I have imposed and the standard conditions that I have just advised you about.

92Now, I can only place you on a community correction order if you agree.  So, firstly, do you understand what is involved in a community correction order.

93ACCUSED:  Yes.

94HER HONOUR:  And do you agree to undertake such an order.

95ACCUSED:  Yes.

96HER HONOUR:  So we will generate the order, and I will get you to sign it. 

Driver licence order

97Dangerous driving causing serious injury and conduct endangering serious injury are serious motor vehicle offences pursuant to s87P(d) of the Sentencing Act and on a finding of guilt the court must cancel an offender's driver's licence and disqualify them from driving for a period specified by the court and not less than 18 months.[10] Pursuant to s89(2) I therefore cancel your licence and disqualify you from obtaining another for a period of 18 months. I intend to backdate this to 2 December 2022 when you were served with the s85 notice. For completeness, I am not satisfied to the requisite degree that you have driven in the interim period. In relation to the summary offence of driving in a dangerous manner, I impose a disqualification period of six months. This will run concurrently with the 18 month disqualification period and will be subsumed.

[10] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 87P(d).

98Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act, had you pleaded not guilty and been found guilty, the sentence I would have imposed is one of 12 months in combination with the community correction order in similar terms.[11]

[11] Ibid s 6AAA.

99HER HONOUR:  I understand Ms VanBeek is online, and there's probably little I can say but at least the matter is over now and hopefully you can move on with your life.  I have certainly accepted that this has been catastrophic and life changing.  It's been devastating.

100MR CHIPKIN:  Yes.  Thank you, Your Honour, Mr Wicks consents to the order (indistinct) and signed it - - - 

101HER HONOUR: I'll sign it and we'll give you copies. 

102All right, I'll stand down briefly and get onto the next matter.

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