A lawyer travelling from interstate has negotiated a plea deal at Darwin Local Court for rural identity 'Blue', with four charges dropped from a list of nine.
The 43-year-old reportedly left the scene of an accident at Coolalinga in 2022, where a Bedford bus he had just finish repairing went through a red light at 4pm and hit another vehicle, sending it into a nearby tree.
Blue's lawyer told the court: "He approaches the intersection, at which point the vehicle starts to rev.
"I'm told it's something that's quite common. That meant he couldn't move the vehicle down in gears and the brakes wouldn't work.
"This man is gripping the steering wheel so tightly in an effort to avoid the collision that he flies through the window still holding the steering wheel."
"This man is gripping the steering wheel so tightly in an effort to avoid the collision that he flies through the window still holding the steering wheel."
- Blue's lawyer
The judged commented: "I'm amazed at that part."
Blue's lawyer continued: "He suffers some significant injuries himself, and while he conceded that he didn't go and speak to the police and doesn't offer assistance immediately, he is in fact treated by an ambulance officer before he departs the scene.
His lawyer highlighted a witness' statement at the scene describing the defendant as: "dazed and confused".
The prosecution read out the amended statement of facts: "The defendant was working with [another man] to get the bus started. After working on the bus for some time they managed to get it started.
"The defendant was informed he could not drive the bus away as it had not been paid for, and had not been registered, and because it had been sitting for so long it was not believed it was safe to drive.
"The bus was agreed to be moved and left on the verge until it was paid for a later date."
Blue had plans to go a bit further than just the verge, however.
The accident occurred at the traffic light intersection of Girraween road and the Stuart Highway.
The Mango Inquirer ran photos of the accident back in 2022, but our old page was since shut down. Luckily a search for "Coolalinga bus crash" brings up photos and a 96 comment discussion on the Humpty Doo and Rural Areas Local Community Facebook Page
The prosecution continued to read the amended statement of facts: "The bus went through a red light and hit a grey volkswagon that rotated, leaving the intersection and hitting a tree.
"The force of the impact caused the defendant to be ejected from the bus through the windscreen. The defendant landed on the median strip still holding the steering wheel in his hands.
"The defendant got to his feet, gathered his possessions from within the bus, and left the scene of the crash. The defendant made no attempts to assist the injured driver of the other vehicle. He made no attempt to report the crash.
"As a result of the crash, the victim suffered lacerations to his scalp, chest and shoulder. He suffered memory loss and had no recollection of the accident.
Blue's lawyer said his client was self-employed and was joined by the mother of his children in court.
He told the judge that a recent quad bike accident left the defendant in a coma for two weeks, contributing to the significant delay in court proceedings, where he experienced a punctured lung, a bruised heart, eight staples in his head, and head trauma.
The lawyer did attempt to downplay the seriousness of the careless driving charge, by characterising the red light as something his client could not avoid, but the seriousness of the case didn't appear lost on the judge.
She told the court: "I'm of the view a term of imprisonment could be close to this offending.
"I think it's a very serious example to anyone getting in to that type of vehicle, in a public street, in the condition it is obviously in.
"I acknowledge your client probably thought he had to move it somewhere else to fix it up, but that was not the way to do it. It's unlawful.
"There was so many points in time where your client, as a mature grown up should have stopped; he shouldn't have started, but he should have stopped.
"My issue here is what to do with your client.
Blue's lawyer spoke up: "It's my submission any time in a custodial setting will make his [ongoing] medical treatment more difficult for him.
The judge noted there was a big gap in offending between 2012 and 2019, although highlighted he'd been in trouble for driving before.
She acknowledged "deterrence" was an element in sentencing.
While the prosecution didn't appear to engage the judge on a custoidal sentence, they did say: "Your honour we would be pressing for a disqualification period.
The judge continued her sentencing remarks: "I'm in no doubt this is a serious example of careless driving, and the conconsequences were that you didn't render assistance and left the scene of the accident.
"I'm not going to send you to jail today.
"The reason I'm not going to, is there is a lot of mitigation in your case. You plead guilty. Your health issues. Your age. In the time since the offense took place, you've shown good prospects for rehabilitiation.
"Despite the fact you have a poor traffic history, it's getting dated.
"I am gong to give you a community corrections order, and I am going to make you pay a fine. I am going to disqualify you for a short amount of time. Nothing like I would have done if you came before me shortly after the incident.
"I do find the bus going through the red light is part of the careless driving. I can't find it as anything else, but I do understand you lawyer's emphasis on how that was to be charatcerised by the court.
"I'm not dealing with a dangerous driving case. I'm making it an aggregated sentence for the careless driving; for the not stopping after the crash, and failing to report the crash. (Social media had that part covered)
"So these are my sentences. You're convicted on counts 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8.
"$900 plus $300 victims levy on 1 and 2. Aggregated sentence of 12 months.
"You're also to pay $1000 fine. You are not to reoffend for 12 months. Your license is disqualified for three months."
The defendent plead guilty to: 'Drive Unregistered Motor Vehicle, Drive Uninsured Motor Vehicle, Careless Driving, Not Stop After Crash, Fail To Report A Crash (Accident)'
Blue's lawyer negotiated the withdrawal on charges: 'Aggravated Unlawful Use Of Motor Vehicle, Drive While Using Hand-Held Mobile Phone (he was on hands-free), Enter Intersection Against Red Light, and Drive Vehicle In A Manner Dangerous'.
Before proceedings started yesterday afternoon, the Darwin local court staff quipped to Blue's lawyer that he would "have to book-in for another night in a Darwin hotel".
Blue's lawyer quipped to the prosecution when they came into the court room that it would be "night court" tonight.
When the judge arrived, she was in no mood to quip anybody; appearing to scold staff and lawyers alike on the numbers of those down in her cells that should require priority for their hearings.
They've made a bigger prison and the Salvation Army homeless hostel on Mitchell street has been taken-over by the 'Open House' prison program; but they haven't really built new court houses nor created extra judges.
We are The Mango Inquirer.
