Gympie driver jailed after rolling car and fleeing scene of horror crash
A Gympie man has been jailed for four years after abandoning his seriously injured teenage cousin following a drunken hooning spree that ended in a devastating rollover crash.
A Gympie driver has been jailed and barred from driving for years over a drunken hooning spree in which he rolled his car, seriously injured his cousin, and then fled the scene without helping.
Kia John Allen Reed, 26, faced Gympie District Court Tuesday, more than two years after the horror crash in which his 18-year-old, intellectually impaired cousin was thrown several metres from the vehicle.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said about 4pm on September 5, 2023, Reed picked two of his cousins up in his 4WD Nissan Patrol.
Reed then engaged in a prolonged spree of reckless and dangerous driving across Kybong and the Mary Valley, including speeding, skidding, and doing burnouts. Reed’s cousins were not charged with any wrongdoing.
Mr Stark said Reed was drinking Great Northern beers at the time, with a can in his lap and two cartons in the car.
Residents of the area who witnessed his dangerous driving jumped in their own cars, trying to get his licence plates and flashing him with their own lights in an effort to make him stop.
The court heard Reed ignored these efforts and continued hooning across the region until he crashed into a parked car.
That was still not enough to stop his drunken rampage, burning up smoke and driving on the wrong side of the road, the court heard.
What did finally bring it to a devastating end was a serious crash about 10pm, when Reed lost control on a bend at Imbil while doing about 90km/h.
His 4WD rolled several times and his teen cousin was ejected from the vehicle.
He came to a rest several metres from the wreckage, suffering a ruptured bladder and injuries to his kidneys.
Reed fled from the scene on foot, without trying to help his cousin, the court was told.
When police arrived at his home several days later, he first tried to run away, before then claiming someone else had been driving the car.
Reed’s lawyer said the father of two was now working to address his issues with alcohol and hoped to reconnect with his cousins, who he had not spoken with since the crash.
She said he was remorseful, but Judge Sarah Farnden challenged this, saying he had committed several other driving offences since his arrest.
“It’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to show it,” Judge Farnden said.
Reed pleaded guilty to dangerous driving while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance and causing grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, driving while under a court ban, trespassing, wilful damage, driving without a licence, and failing to comply with his duties as a driver involved in a crash.
He was sentenced to four years’ jail with parole eligibility on March 3, 2027, and banned from driving for four years.
