Weipa man Axel Polmear sentenced over quad bike accident

A Queensland mine worker who had been heavily drinking has escaped jail after his friend suffered a traumatic brain injury and almost died when he fell off the back of the quad bike he was riding.

Axel Polmear pleaded guilty to all four charges, as nearly 20 of his friends and family – most of whom came from Weipa – watched on during highly emotional sentencing in the Cairns District Court.

A Weipa mine worker who had been heavily drinking has escaped jail after his friend suffered a traumatic brain injury and almost died when he fell off the back of the quad bike he was riding.

Axel James Landon Polmear, 22, was sentenced in Cairns District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing GBH, driving over the middle alcohol limit, driving an uninsured vehicle and driving an unregistered vehicle.

The court heard on the night of April 26, 2022, Polmear — a mine diesel fitter — was with three friends including the then 18-year-old Rowan Ebner.

They were drinking heavily at Polmear’s parents property when just after midnight the four decided to go on a ride on Polmear’s quad bike on his Weipa property.

The court heard they pushed the quad bike onto the road to ride onto the creek. Polmear drove the bike, and the three friends sat on the rack of the bike without helmets.

Rowan Ebner told how his life will never been the same after his traumatic brain injury which left him "like a child" and led his girlfriend ending her relationship with him. Image: file photo.

On the way to the creek, Polmear took a turn off the bitumen onto the shoulder of the road and went over a drain, during which Mr Ebner fell off the vehicle and had to be flown to hospital for emergency life saving treatment.

Mr Ebner gave an emotionally intense victim impact statement saying he had permanent cognitive problems including memory loss, poor recall and frequent instances of emotional dysregulation.

He said that his parents had to look after him “like I was a child again” in his recovery and his girlfriend broke up with him because “she found me too needy after the accident”.

Polmear’s defence lawyer, Philip Dovey, argued his client’s had “chosen to sit on the bike rack” without helmets, that Polmear was not speeding and “there is no indication that there was anything that my client did with his driving to cause Mr Ebner to come off the bike”.

“It’s not clear how he came off the bike,” Mr Dovey said.

“Mr Ebner chose himself to sit voluntarily at the end of the rack. My client wears the legal responsibility for that because he was in charge of the vehicle.”

Judge Dean Morzone KC. Picture: Brendan Radke

In sentencing, Judge Dean Morzone told the court excessive drinking of alcohol “helps me understand how three mates wrecked their lives so quickly”.

He said Polmear had a “reckless lapse of judgement” but that “both of you bear some responsibility”.’

“You may well have killed your friend. He is lucky to have lived, but unlucky to have lived with the aftermath,” he said.

Judge Morzone said he did not want to send a first time, young offender to prison and sentenced him to 20 months prison immediately suspended for the charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing GBH.

“You’re going home,” Judge Morzone said.

Upon that, several female family members of Polmear’s began to cry audibly. Close to 20 of his family and friends were in the courtroom.

He convicted and did not further punish Polmear for driving over the middle alcohol limit, driving an insured vehicle and driving an unregistered vehicle.

“I hope you and Mr Ebner find some way, some level of reconciliation,” he said.

Originally published as Weipa man Axel Polmear sentenced over quad bike accident