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District Court 15 March 2019

R v Raymond

[2019] NSWDC 679

Traffic & driving
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE DANGEROUS DRIVING OCCASIONING DEATH FAIL TO STOP AND ASSIST DRIVE WITH LOW RANGE PCA

Citation: R v Raymond [2019] NSWDC 679
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 15 March 2019
Judge: Judge W Hunt

Background

The offender, a young woman with no prior criminal convictions and no traffic infringements, pleaded guilty in the Local Court to three offences arising from a fatal collision on the night of 25 May 2018 in Berry, New South Wales. After attending a party and consuming alcohol, she drove north along the Old Princes Highway, where she struck a pedestrian walking in the northbound lane. The victim sustained catastrophic injuries and died at the scene.

Following the collision, the offender drove approximately 300 metres before stopping at a nearby residential property. She ran inside and told partygoers she had hit someone, prompting others to attend the scene and call for help. She attempted to return to the scene herself but was directed back to the house by others who described her as hysterical.

Police located the offender at the property, where she admitted to being the driver and returned a breath analysis reading of 0.057 grams per 210 litres of breath, constituting a low range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) offence. The matter was committed to the Nowra District Court for sentence.

  • The appropriate sentence for dangerous driving occasioning death, having regard to the objective seriousness of the offence, moral culpability, and the offender's personal circumstances
  • Whether the offender's failure to stop and render assistance constituted a discrete offence warranting separate and additional punishment
  • How to treat the low range PCA offence, dealt with on a s 166 certificate under the Criminal Procedure Act
  • The weight to be given to the offender's prior good character, remorse, and rehabilitation prospects in mitigation
  • The applicable licence disqualification periods across all three offences

Decision

Judge Hunt described the sentencing exercise as an "impossible equation," quoting Yehia DCJ in R v Barnett to the effect that no term of imprisonment can equate to a human life or return a loved one. His Honour acknowledged the victim impact statements read by the deceased's father, partner, and close friend, as well as a statement read on behalf of the deceased's mother, and described them as speaking eloquently to an irrecoverable loss. The sentences imposed were framed as reflecting proper principle, not as a measure of the victim's life.

On objective seriousness, the court noted that the offender was travelling between 56 and 67 kilometres per hour on an unlit country road with a 50 km/h speed limit, and forensic analysis indicated she had limited warning time after cresting a hill. The weather was disputed between witnesses, with one officer reporting fog and poor visibility and others describing clear conditions. The court accepted that the combination of alcohol consumption, speed, and road and lighting conditions informed the objective gravity of the driving.

His Honour gave considerable weight to the offender's prior good character, consistent responsible driving record, genuine remorse, and the strong family and community support evident from oral evidence given by her parents and eldest sister, together with a bundle of character references. The sentencing assessment report assessed her as suitable for community service work. The court imposed an Intensive Correction Order (ICO) of two years for the principal offence of dangerous driving occasioning death, being the maximum available for that sentencing disposition, combined with 400 hours of community service as an additional condition.

For the fail-to-stop offence and the low range PCA, the court imposed separate Community Corrections Orders. The court structured the overall sentence deliberately so that the Community Corrections Orders, each of three years, extended beyond the two-year ICO period, in order to ensure Ms Raymond remained subject to supervision for the full extent of the criminality not absorbed within the principal offence.

Orders Made

  • Dangerous driving occasioning death: Convicted; sentenced to two years imprisonment by way of Intensive Correction Order; 400 hours community service as an additional condition; automatic licence disqualification of three years backdated to 25 May 2018
  • Fail to stop and assist: Convicted; three-year Community Corrections Order with good behaviour and supervision conditions; condition not to drive during the order; automatic licence disqualification of three years backdated to 25 May 2018
  • Low range PCA (s 166 certificate): Convicted; three-year Community Corrections Order in identical terms; automatic licence disqualification of six months backdated to 25 May 2018
  • Offender directed to report to Wollongong Community Corrections within seven days

Key Takeaways

  • A conviction for dangerous driving occasioning death does not attract a standard non-parole period under the Crimes Act, leaving the sentencing court with broad discretion informed by general sentencing principles including denunciation, proportionality, rehabilitation, and prospects of reoffending.
  • Where an offender stopped nearby rather than rendering immediate roadside assistance, the failure to stop and assist was treated as a discrete offence warranting separate punishment, even though the offender did promptly alert others at the party.
  • Genuine remorse, prior good character, an unblemished driving record, and strong family support can carry significant mitigating weight in dangerous driving sentencing, though they do not displace the need for adequate punishment and denunciation.
  • The District Court structured the sentence so that Community Corrections Orders for the lesser offences ran for longer than the principal ICO, expressly to ensure the overall supervisory regime reflected the full scope of criminality involved across all three matters.
  • Backdating disqualification periods to the date of the original licence suspension is available and was applied here, with all disqualifications running from 25 May 2018 rather than the date of sentence.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 52A(1)(c), 52A(b)1
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s 166
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), s 73A

Cases:
- Dinsdale v R (2000) 202 CLR 321
- R v Barnett [2016] NSWDC 302
- R v Cahill [2015] NSWCCA 53
- R v Jarrod Smith [2016] NSWCCA 75
- R v JW [2010] NSWCCA 49
- R v Melissa McGowan [2013] NSWDC 22
- R v Osenkowski (1982) 30 SASR
- R v Pogson (2012) 82 NSWLR 60
- R v Tannous (2012) 227 A Crim R 251