Ute driver sentenced for speeding through stop sign at Edge Hill, seriously injuring woman
A remorseful drink driver who caused a woman grievous bodily harm in an accident when he sped through a stop sign near Edge Hill Bowls Club has asked a magistrate if he can do community service to ‘give back’.
Cairns
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A young man who was drink driving when he sped through a stop sign near the Edge Hill Bowls Club, ploughing into a woman’s car and causing her serious injury, says he has been “haunted” by the consequences of his bad decision.
Harison Robert Hardcastle, 24, pleaded guilty in Cairns Magistrates Court to careless driving causing grievous bodily harm, drink driving with a blood alcohol reading of 0.106 and drug driving with THC in his system over the accident on the corner of Woodward and Jensen streets on May 10, 2024.
The court was told Hardcastle and two friends were in his ute just after 5.20am when he sped through a stop sign, hitting the woman’s car and sending it spinning off the road.
The ute came to rest on a nearby fence after the impact, the court was told.
Police prosecutor David Castor said Hardcastle and the woman driving the other car, aged in her 30s, were both taken to hospital.
He said the woman’s injuries included a shattered humerus and ribs and two fractured vertebrae, which required surgery to heal.
Hardcastle told the court he could not afford a lawyer and wanted to face up to the charges because he had been “haunted” by the consequences of his actions since the accident.
“I want to acknowledge the people who were injured as a result of my actions,” Hardcastle said.
“I am truly sorry for the pain and trauma I have caused and I know what happened impacted their lives in ways that go beyond the physical.
“There is no justification for my decision to get behind the wheel that night and I will carry the weight of that decision for the rest of my life.”
He said he had given up drinking, completed a course, changed employment from his liquor store job and had to pay $20,000 to his insurers.
“Since the incident, I have come to understand how much harm one single moment of poor judgement can cause to not just myself but to others who have no choice in the matter,” he said.
Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington sentenced Hardcastle, who had no criminal history and worked two casual jobs, to 200 hours of community service, disqualified him from driving for six months and recorded convictions against him.
She said she accepted the offences were out of character, but the facts and consequences were serious.
“To your credit you sought to plead guilty at the earliest time ... in essence, you failed to stop at the intersection and .. (the victim) sustained significant injuries,” Ms Brassington said.
“Through your own actions, you know you significantly harmed another human being ... the nature of your driving was at a high level of carelessness.”
“This type of offence is sometimes difficult because often, you have young people of good character who make one serious mistake and that has consequences for the rest of their life – the court must impose a sentence that acts as a general deterrent.”
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Originally published as Ute driver sentenced for speeding through stop sign at Edge Hill, seriously injuring woman
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