Massimo Rigon reached 118km/h in 60km/h before crash injuring dad and two kids, court hears

A man was driving at double the speed limit when he crashed and hurt two kids and their dad – and a judge wasn’t impressed by his lawyer’s claim.

A speeding driver was feeling euphoric on his way home from band practice when he clocked 118km/h on a suburban road before crashing and injuring two children and their father, a court has heard.

Massimo Rigon, 31, of Rostrevor was driving his father’s high-powered Holden ute when he smashed into the family in a 60km/h zone near the intersection of James Congdon Drive and Kintore St, Thebarton, about 10.30pm on February 13, 2020.

The District Court this week heard the oldest child, then aged 12, suffered a head injury, while the youngest, then aged two-and-a-half, suffered cut lip but escaped more serious injury.

Andrew Moffa, for Rigon, said his client was “unfamiliar” with his father’s ute but had asked to drive it to band practice on the night.

Massimo Rigon Picture: Facebook

“It was a car he was not familiar with, hadn’t driven that much but he had been given it this night that he specifically asked for it, went to band practice,” he said.

“There was a certain degree of euphoria on his part, he was going home after a good night, and as a result of his speeding for a short space of time, the accident has occurred and he’s deeply sorry for that.”

He said the victim, who was turning out of Kintore St on to James Congdon Drive, while not in any way responsible for the crash had “misjudged the speed” at which Rigon was travelling, which caught the ire of Judge Rauf Soulio.

“How can you possibly put that?” he said. “A motorist is entitled to assume that … the oncoming traffic will be travelling at or at least near the speed limit,” he said.

Judge Soulio said Rigon was speeding at “virtually double the speed limit”.

Rigon wiped away tears throughout the hearing and said he was “very sorry” and “felt incredibly terrible” about what happened in a letter of apology he read aloud from the dock.

“I’m very sorry and take responsibility for the accident that I caused,” he said. “I realise how truly dangerous it is to drive in this way.

“No one ever intends to get in an accident. I made a mistake that I cannot change … I never meant to hurt anyone.”

Mr Moffa said Rigon, a self-employed electrician, was “really struggling” to process what he had done and urged the court to spare him an immediate jail term.

Peter Cannell, prosecuting, said Rigon had a low level of alcohol in his blood at the time and had previously had his licence suspended. He urged the court to impose a jail term, but was not opposed to the sentence being served on home detention.

Judge Soulio ordered a home detention suitability report.

He will sentence Rigon, who faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a three-year licence disqualification, in February.