R v McDougall

[2020] NSWDC 880

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v McDougall [2020] NSWDC 880

Hearing dates:

11 September 2020

Date of orders:

15 October 2020

Decision date:

15 October 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Bright DCJ

Decision:

Term of imprisonment of 2 years and 9 months with a non-parole period of 1 year and 10 months.

Licence disqualification for 1 year, 10 months and 20 days.

Catchwords:

CRIME — Driving offences — Dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm

SENTENCING — Aggravating factors — Breach of conditional liberty

SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Remorse

SENTENCING — Relevant factors on sentence — Deterrence

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)

Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW)

Cases Cited:

Attorney-General’s Application Under Section 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act (1999) No 1 of 2002 (2002) 56 NSWLR 146

R v Bugmy (2013) 249 CLR 571

R v Manok [2017] NSWCCA 232

R v Whyte (2002) 55 NSWLR 252

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Regina (Crown)
David McDougall (Offender)

Representation:

Solicitors:
Ms H Cantor (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions)
Mr S Singh-Panwar (Offender)

File Number(s):

2018/397715

Publication restriction:

Nil

Judgment

1. David McDougall, 29 years of age, appears for sentence in relation to one offence of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, drive manner dangerous (the victim is Toni Chaloner), an offence pursuant to s 52A(3)(c), Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The maximum prescribed penalty for that offence is 7 years imprisonment. There is no prescribed standard non‑parole period. There is an automatic licence disqualification of 3 years and a minimum disqualification of 12 months.

2. When dealing with the offender for that offence, the Court is taking into account a further offence on a Form 1 of cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle (victim Rachel Stancombe), an offence pursuant to s 53, Crimes Act. The maximum prescribed penalty for that offence is two years’ imprisonment.

3. The offender pleaded guilty on 5 May 2020 at the Wyong Local Court. Having regard to the timing of the plea, I propose to allow a discount on sentence of 25%.

4. The offending occurred on 27 December 2018. The offender was arrested on that same date and granted bail. He subsequently spent 15 days bail refused in August 2019 and has also been bail refused since 21 February 2020. I will say more about the commencement date of the sentence later in my remarks.

The Agreed Facts

5. At the time of the offence, the offender was on his P1 provisional licence.

6. On 27 December 2018, at about 8.30 am, the victim Toni Chaloner, then aged 35 years, was at a mechanic at the Central Coast Motor Group, located in Johnson Road, Tuggerah. She had taken her husband’s car into the mechanic and, after speaking with someone at the counter, was waiting outside on a grass verge near the business.

7. At the same time, the offender was driving a silver Mitsubishi Lancer in a north-easterly direction on Woodbury Park Drive, Tuggerah.

8. In…