Philip Andrew Bateman jailed for dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm near Wardell

A trip to the bowlo ended in tragedy when a meth-addled driver severely injured two couples in a North Coast highway smash. The victims’ lives will never be the same again.

The highway crash left four people badly injured.

A driver on meth has been jailed after severely injuring four people in a head on collision on the Pacific Highway.

Philip Andrew Bateman, 58, was found guilty at Lismore Local Court on Monday of three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and one count of cause bodily harm by misconduct after he pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 14, 2021

Bateman, from Temora in the Riverine, was driving northbound on the Pacific Hwy at East Wardell when he began to drift across double unbroken lines into oncoming traffic about 5.30pm on August 7, 2020.

He continued to drive on the wrong side of the road in his black Mercedes-Benz sedan until his car crashed head on with a white Kia Cerato sedan containing four middle-aged people, the court heard.

Philip Andrew Bateman, 58, was found guilty in Lismore Local Court on Monday of three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and one count of cause bodily harm by misconduct. Picture: Cathy Adams

Both cars sustained “substantial front-end damage” and the driver of the Kia had to be cut out of the vehicle.

“I tried to get out of his way. He just kept coming. I couldn’t go any further to the left,” the 69-year-old man told police officers.

Witnesses spotted Bateman lying on the road face down, hitting the ground with his hands and yelling repeatedly: “Not again”. He complained about an injury to his pelvis.

“He was yelling and sobbing, stating it was his fault,” court documents stated.

“He appeared edgy, jumpy, he was swearing and aggressive.

“Attending police observed Bateman to be yelling in pain, but (his injuries) appeared to be exaggerated.”

A blood test revealed methamphetamines and THC from cannabis in Bateman’s blood.

The victims were travelling to Broadwater Bowling Club for dinner and to watch football at the time of the crash.

Bateman’s offending left them with lifelong trauma and their lives were irreversibly changed, victim impact statements revealed.

Two of the victims needed to undergo surgery for broken bones and internal injuries.

The driver suffered a broken hip, broken ribs, a crushed left tibia and bruising all over his body. He required surgery on his left leg and underwent a right hip replacement.

A vehicle passes road signage on the Pacific Highway between Ballina and Grafton. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

The 60-year-old woman in the back seat of the driver side of the Kia was partially disembowelled in the collision and went under the knife to repair the damage.

Her bowel was torn from the internal wall and 30 centimetres of intestine was removed.

The woman will likely experience chronic pain for the rest of her life, according to a treating doctor’s expert witness statement.

“I am not the same person since the accident,” she said.

“I am limited in every area of life due to the impact the head-on accident has had on my life … because of one choice one person made.”

Bateman only suffered minor injuries in the collision.

He walked into the police station to be charged a few days after the crash.

A section of the Pacific Highway.

But Bateman fronted court in a wheelchair two years on.

Bateman’s defence asked Magistrate Jeff Linden for special consideration due to chronic pain and mental health issues.

However, Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Craig Pullen said Bateman had shown no remorse for his offending and had a long history of drink driving and criminal offences in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.

Magistrate Jeff Linden sentenced Bateman to 18 months jail with a non-parole period of four-months. Bateman’s licence was disqualified for three years.

Bateman will be out of prison in four months if he is of good behaviour, which Sen Sgt Pullen said was “manifestly inadequate”.

Sen Sgt Pullen said he was “extremely disappointed” in the sentence outcome and he would be requesting that the Department of Public Prosecutions appeal the sentence in a higher court to seek a harsher sentence for Bateman.