Listed: Seven of SA’s most dangerous speeders to face court in 2023
Clocked driving as fast as 250km/h, caught drag racing and terrorising other motorists. These are some of South Australia’s extreme speedsters.
Police & Courts
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South Australia roads have been the scene of many high speed dangerous acts that have landed drivers in court this year with one “d**khead” clocking up to 250km/h.
From a stolen car driver interrupting a cricket match to an impromptu drag race, here are some of the most hazardous hoons and speeders who have been through SA courts so far in 2023.
Dylan Shane Michael Irwin
A hoon was slammed by a magistrate for his reckless decision to travel at an “extraordinary” speed and told to find a racetrack if he wants to do it again.
Dylan Shane Michael Irwin, 33, was sentenced to a good behaviour bond for travelling at over double the speed limit on a high-powered sports bike.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard a speed camera detected a Suzuki motorcycle ridden by Irwin travelling at 169km/h in an 80km/h zone on Gorge Rd at Paracombe.
The road is notorious for its particularly windy, unsafe road, especially at that speed.
Heidi Salvemini, for Irwin, said her client had been raised in speed racing and had over 16 years’ experience in speed racing motorbikes.
“He’s certainly well experienced to manage a vehicle at that speed,” she said.
Magistrate Ben Sale said there was an inherent danger when someone travelled at such an “extraordinary” speed.
“That is a speed that really must be reserved for racetracks,” he said.
“Going at the speed, any problem with that motorcycle you would have likely ended up in very bad shape if not dead.”
Irwin, of Elizabeth Grove, pleaded guilty to driving at extreme speed.
Mr Sale sentenced Irwin to a $100, 18-month good behaviour bond.
A conviction was recorded. Irwin was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Jibran Zebian and Abed Aljassar
Two complete strangers who street raced on Anzac Highway, reaching speeds of more than 100 km/h, both avoided jail.
Abed Alrahman Aljassar, 23, and Jibran Zebian, 21 were stopped by police, who were conducting speed detection duties on Anzac Highway at Camden Park on October 11, 2021.
Around 9.50pm, police heard loud engines and saw exhaust noise and headlights approaching at a fast speed.
The pair had raced for a distance of about 600 metres.
Aljassar was detected travelling at 124km/h, while Zebian’s speed was recorded at 106km/h.
Zebian, of Seacombe Heights, and Aljassar, of Mitchell Park, pleaded guilty to street racing.
In sentencing, Magistrate Ben Sale contemplated imposing a term of imprisonment for Zebian to send a strong message to young men.
Ultimately he was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.
He ordered Zebian to attend and participate in drive safety courses and complete 50 hours of community service.
Zebian was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.
Aljassar to a $500, 12-month good behaviour bond and disqualified from driving for 15 months.
Keely Bown
A young woman avoided jail after leaving her teenage passenger with a traumatic brain injury.
Keely Bown’s car became airborne and rolled several times while she was travelling 45km/h over the speed limit.
During sentencing, the District Court heard Bown was driving her 2008 SS Holden sedan, which had a V8 motor and a six-speed manual transmission, on December 23, 2020.
The court heard Bown – a race car driver – was driving along a straight stretch when she came upon a water course dip in the road.
Riley Leesong, 16, and 17-year-old Crystal Wastell-Stevens were passengers in the car as Bown drove out of Port Pirie in the direction of Nelshaby.
“You were going so fast that when you came out of the dip your car became airborne and you lost control of it,” Auxiliary Judge Gordon Barrett said.
“The car rolled several times.”
The court heard Bown and Ms Wastell-Stevens did not suffer serious injuries.
The court heard Mr Leesong suffered life threatening injuries, including a severe traumatic brain injury, torn spleen, torn bowel and collapsed lung.
Mr Leesong was left with cognitive problems, hand tremor and a speech difficulty, with his lengthy recovery traumatic for him and for his family.
Bown, of Port Pirie West, pleaded guilty to causing serious harm by dangerous driving and causing harm by dangerous driving.
Bown was sentenced to two years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
Due to Bown’s young age and no criminal history, she was ordered to serve the sentence on home detention.
Bown was also disqualified from driving for 11 years and ordered to pay $818.95 compensation to Mr Leesong.
Daniel Allen Poyner
Daniel Poyner created “50 minutes of madness” on the roads after hitting a police officer with a stolen car.
During sentencing, the District Court heard Polair was conducting observations of a stolen car on September 23, 2021.
Two unmarked police vehicles travelled to a unit complex in Salisbury East and parked in order to block the car from leaving.
A police officer removed Poyner’s passenger and yelled for him to get out of the car.
The court heard Poyner panicked and accelerated the car towards a small gap between a fence and one of the police vehicles where another police officer was standing.
As Poyner accelerated, the officer attempted to run behind the fence and out of the path but was struck by the car.
“He was then thrown approximately 2m towards the road, landing on his back,” Judge Jane Schammer said.
“The vehicle you were driving also collided with the fence and the police vehicle, which had the officer’s police dog inside it.”
Poyner drove off and a pursuit ensued.
Eventually Poyner abandoned the car at the front of the Findon Shopping Centre and attempted to escape by foot before he was found hiding behind a loading dock and a large rubbish bin.
He pleaded guilty to recklessly causing harm and driving dangerously to escape police pursuit.
Judge Schammer said police officers are entitled to be protected and Poyner posed a significant risk to the community during his offending.
Taking into account the time Poyner had spent in custody, Judge Schammer sentenced him to one year and eight months in jail, with a non-parole period of two months.
Poyner was also disqualified from driving for six years.
Massimo Ernesto Rigon
A musician who reached speeds of up to 130km/h on a 60km/h road was sentenced to a term of home detention.
Massimo Ernesto Rigon, 32, of Rostrevor was sentenced in the District Court in August after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated causing harm by dangerous driving.
Rigon was speeding along James Congdon Drive, Mile End, about 10.30pm on February 13, 2020, when he smashed into a father who was driving with his two children.
The father had been planning to turn right from Kintore St onto James Congdon Drive.
In sentencing, Judge Rauf Soulio said SA Police major crash reconstruction expert, Sergeant Mark Fulcher, had concluded the father had commenced his turn right “when it was safe to do so” had Rigon been travelling at the speed limit.
Sergeant Fulcher had also determined Rigon was driving at speeds of up to 130km/h before the crash and between 114-122km/h at the time of the collision.
Judge Soulio said the father “was entitled to assume that an approaching vehicle was travelling at or at least about the speed limit”.
He said the father sustained injuries including fractured vertebra, rib and sternum causing significant pain and discomfort. He was off work for four months.
He said the father’s 11-year-old son suffered injuries including a bleed around the brain, air and blood in his chest and missed two months of school. A three-year-old girl suffered a cut lip.
Judge Soulio said the boy, who now no longer plays sport, had physically recovered from the traumatic brain injury which was “the most fortunate outcome”.
He said Rigon was driving home after band practice where he had been drinking, but on countback his blood alcohol level would have been below the legal limit. The court had earlier heard Rigon, a self employed electrician, was driving his father’s high powered Holden ute and felt “a certain degree of euphoria” after band practice.
Rigon was jailed for three years and set a non-parole period of 18 months to be served on home detention.
Rigon was also banned from driving and for five years and ordered to complete 240 hours of community service.
Tarelle Power-Williams
An extreme speedster clocked at 253km/h and dubbed likely the “most dangerous person in the state for the minutes that he was driving”, has been disqualified from driving indefinitely.
Tarelle Lewis Charles Power-Williams, 20, was on his L-plates when he was detected speeding at 253km/h in the 110km/h zone on the North-South Motorway at Waterloo Corner on January 30 in an unregistered black Holden ute.
As a learner driver, he was only permitted to be driving at 100km/h.
The court heard he was found 2km further along the road because his gearbox blew up from over revving, admitting to police he was “driving like a d**khead”.
Power-Williams was also sentenced for an earlier extreme speed where he drove dangerously for 18 minutes through the northern suburbs, including through red lights on the wrong side of the road, as well as petrol theft, escaping a police pursuit and driving unregistered.
Mr Sale sentenced Power-Williams to one year and four months jail, with a non-parole period of seven months.
The sentence was backdated to June 15.
Power-Williams was further disqualified from driving until further order, with a minimum period of six years.
His ute was crushed by South Australian Police to send a message to dangerous drivers.
Troy Gary Wilson
Troy Gary Wilson will spend at least four years behind bars for a “terrifying” chase through both the suburbs and a cricket match.
Wilson showed little reaction as he was jailed for six years, with a four-year non-parole period, and banned him from driving for four years, back in July.
Judge Geraldine Davison told the District Court Wilson’s latest high-speed chase ended only because, after repeatedly ramming civilian and police cars, he had “destroyed” his stolen vehicle.
She said his litany of offending would have warranted a 13-year term if not for his guilty pleas, apologies and determination to kick his drug habit.
“It seems that, when you are pursued by police, your first instinct is to outrun them – and you do so even if there’s significant danger to others, police or yourself,” she said.
“CCTV footage of the chase shows your terrifying and wanton disregard for the safety of members of the public … it’s horrifying to watch.”
Wilson, 31, of West Hindmarsh, pleaded guilty to seven charges ranging from stealing a car through to deliberately driving at pedestrians.
He was arrested following a police pursuit in May 2022 that started at Largs Bay, wound through the northern suburbs and ended at Bowden.
Wilson drove a stolen Holden Calais into multiple cars and people, including a police officer, and through an in-progress cricket game.
Wilson will be eligible to seek release on parole from June 24, 2027.
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