Kaiden Thomas Jim Bell sentenced for life threatening crash

A young driver, who caused a crash that left his passenger needing lifesaving brain surgery, has appeared in court where another dark crime was also revealed.

A young Bundaberg man has been sentenced after he caused a crash that required his passenger to undergo life saving surgery.

Twenty-two-year-old Kaiden Thomas Jim Bell appeared dressed in green prison clothes at the Bundaberg District Court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol.

It was also revealed he was charged with one count of choking (domestic violence offence).

He had been on remand at the Maryborough Correctional Centre since November.

The court heard that on September 11, 2020, Bell was driving a car with a male passenger.

While turning onto Wyper Street at Bundaberg South, the car hit a kerb and crossed onto the opposite side of the road and rolled onto its roof, stopping at a tree.

The passenger was wedged between the roof of the car and a tree, and was stuck for an extended period of time before he was extracted by emergency services.

Ambulance officers found the man was breathing, but was not responsive.

He was taken to Bundaberg Hospital where he had a seizure before being placed in an induced coma and flown to a Brisbane hospital.

Doctors found the victim had a closed wrist injury, a five centimetre right scalp laceration, bleeding surrounding the area of his brain and a traumatic brain injury which required immediate life-saving surgery.

Ms Ahern said the victim’s impact statement described the harrowing impact of his injuries.

“The injuries he sustained have a significant impact on him still to this day,” she said.

Bell was taken to Bundaberg Hospital where he was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.141 and tested positive to cannabis.

He told police he had smoked the drug two to three hours before and had 10 alcoholic drinks.

On November 28, 2021 Bell and his partner were at home when they had an argument after she told him she wasn’t happy with their relationship.

They were in the kitchen when Bell grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against a wall and squeezed her throat.

The court heard the partner was struggling to breathe and felt pressure behind her eyes.

Ms Ahern told the court the complainant signed a withdrawal of complaint prior to sentencing, but the Crown wanted to proceed with the charge.

Shortly after the withdrawal was mentioned, the complainant, who was in the courtroom, interrupted Ms Ahern and turned to Bell’s father, who was also supporting him in court.

“Do you want to say something?,” she said to Bell’s father, but the verbal exchange quickly diffused.

Defence barrister Nick Larter told the court Bell’s parents had split up when he was young, but he had maintained a stable relationship with them both.

Mr Larter said the turning point in Bell’s behaviour began in 2019 when he returned home one day and found his mum had taken her own life.

“That was obviously, understandably, a significant trauma he suffered,” Mr Larter said.

“He struggled with the grieving process after that and obtained refuge for his grief through drugs and alcohol; that’s when his interaction with the criminal justice system began.”

He told the court Bell left school in Year 11 to start working in hospitality, but later decided to complete the steps program at CQUniversity to upgrade his schooling so he could study physiotherapy at the University of Queensland.

Judge Nathan Jarro addressed Bell, saying the victim of the crash was lucky to be alive.

“The tree stopped the car from rolling multiple times,” Judge Jarro said.

“(The victim) required life saving intervention.

“If it had not been for that, you would be facing the offence of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.”

Bell was sentenced to three years’ jail with a parole release date of September 1, 2022, and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

For driving under the influence, he was disqualified from driving for six months.

For the choking offence, he was given a concurrent sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment.

His 124 days in pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served and convictions were recorded for all charges.