SA taxi driver Bo Xi Li gets home detention over fatal crash in Adelaide Hills
THE fiancee of a man killed by a “reckless and foolhardy” taxi driver has criticised a judge’s decision to allow his jail sentence to be served on home detention.
- Criminals can now serve jail terms on home detention
- How this case sparked warnings of more court case delays
THE fiancee of a man killed by a “reckless and foolhardy” taxi driver on a windy Adelaide Hills road has criticised a judge’s decision to allow a jail sentence to be served on home detention.
Bo Xi Li, 30, killed retired electrical engineer and grandfather Trevor Bird, 68, during a head-on crash after he lost control of his Mitsubishi Lancer at 104km/h and crossed on to the wrong side of North East Rd at Houghton on September 30, 2012.
Li, a father of one originally from China, seriously injured his own wife, Yuegai, his victim’s fiancee, Timea Dixon, and an unnamed friend while returning from the Barossa Valley.
The crash, which occurred in an 80km/h zone and on a “recommended” 50km/h bend, came just four months after Li was convicted of driving without due care over a similar high speed accident.
On Friday, District Court Judge Michael Boylan said his “reckless, foolhardy and completely unacceptable” behaviour must be punished.
As relatives of both sides wept in the public gallery, Judge Boylan jailed an emotional Li for five years with a non-parole period of four years, finding “no good reason” to suspend the sentence.
Despite labelling it “very serious offending”, he ruled that Li would become one of the first in the state to serve his jail term on home detention under new laws that come into force this month
But outside court, Mrs Dixon, 72, of Birdwood, who suffered broken ribs, pelvis, hand and ankle, expressed her “disappointment” at that ruling and questioned the legal process. She also claimed to have seen Li speed along that road days prior to the accident.
“He should have gone to jail,” she said. “He doesn’t care he took a life. He gets to live with his wife. I don’t think I can accept it after what he did to me, Trevor’s family and my family.
“I am devastated. He has shown no remorse whatsoever, he didn’t care that he took a life and caused injuries to other people.”
Mr Bird, a father of five and grandfather of seven, was returning with Ms Dixon from a weekly trip to a St Agnes bakery in his white van to buy bread for the Adelaide Hills animal sanctuary he loved in retirement.
But Li, who also has convictions for drink-driving and talking on a mobile phone while behind the wheel, was convicted by a jury in August after a trial.
He had denied one count of causing death by dangerous driving after claiming his actions only amounted to the lesser driving without due care — arguments rejected by Judge Boylan.
He will be subject to strict conditions and monitoring, but will stay at his parents’ house with his wife and will be able to work. He had faced a maximum 15 years in jail.
He is also banned from driving for at least 10 years.
“Nothing I say here now or do today will ease their pain,” the judge said.
“In my view there is no such thing as closure in matters such as this.”
He also admitted he would not be able to put the damage Li had wrought into words as “eloquently” as Mrs Dixon had in her emotional victim impact statement.
Li, who held hands with his wife, refused to comment outside court. He has flagged an appeal.
