‘Guilt and shame': M1 fatal crash driver sentenced to 3.5 years jail
Dane Wheway clipped Jeremy Harvey's ute, sending him into the path of a truck on a packed freeway and killing him. But the young man's remorse, guilt and shame was clear to the judge that handed down his sentence.
NSW
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A driver who caused a horror crash on the Central Coast, that claimed the life of a father, wiped away tears while being told he may walk from prison in just a few months.
Dane Wheway was driving his Ford Ranger at high speeds and swerving between lanes on the M1 Motorway in March 2018.
NSW District Court Judge Robyn Tupman, on Tuesday, said he was driving “dangerously and erratically”, weaving across multiple lanes, travelling close behind other vehicles and speeding.
The then-24-year-old was cruising along, on average, at 132km/h, significantly above the posted speed limit.
He was travelling at about 123km/h when he shot up behind Jeremy Harvey’s D-Max ute, who was in the middle lane, near Mount White.
Wheway was moving into the right lane, overtaking the D-Max, when Mr Harvey stabbed his breaks for no apparent reason.
Wheway overtook Mr Harvey but, as he began moving back into the middle lane, Mr Harvey took his foot off the brake.
Wheway clipped the front of the D-Max as he merged in front of it.
The D-Max spun into the path of a truck before being rammed into dense bushland where it hit several trees.
Mr Harvey did not survive and Wheway initially pulled over, seeing the 46-year-old deceased in the wreckage.
The truck driver was knocked out, left with a gash on his head and back injuries.
A jury would later hear Mr Harvey had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06 which would have put him in the low-range drink driving category.
Wheway left the scene of the crash, driving to his home in Wyong.
“He did not try to hide or flee, the police were waiting for him and arrested him,” the judge said while sentencing Wheway on Tuesday.
Wheway pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death but police prosecutors pushed ahead with a trial attempting to gain a vehicular manslaughter conviction.
The jury found Wheway not guilty of that charge.
Mrs Tupman noted he had never applied for bail because of “guilt and shame” for his role in Mr Harvey’s death. She took that as clear evidence of his remorse.
She handed him three years and six months in prison with a non-parole period of 27 months, backdated to his arrest.
Wheway wiped tears from his face as he realised he could be paroled as early as June this year.
“I love you, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said before being led away.
His family rushed forward to reach into the dock and hug him.