Man who hit cops at Leumeah RBT site had previously been caught using mobile phone while driving
THE young driver — who severed the foot of one police officer and injured another when he ploughed his vehicle into them at a RBT site in Leumeah while distracted by his mobile phone — has a lengthy driving record, a court heard today.
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THE young driver who severed the foot of one police officer and injured another when he ploughed his car into them while distracted by his mobile phone has a lengthy driving record.
At just 22 years old, Jakob Thornton has already had four licence suspensions and two warning letters for demerit points, court documents said.
In 2016 he had points deducted from his license for using a mobile phone while driving, the documents said.
The Ruse man was refused bail on Saturday after he was charged over an incident where he smashed his Fiat van into two officers at a road side breath test in Leumeah — again allegedly distracted because he was reading a text on his mobile.
Court documents said Thornton was travelling at 60km/h and had been looking at his phone for 10 to 20 seconds when he crashed into senior constables Jonathon Wright and Matthew Foley on Campbelltown Rd at 8.20pm last night.
Mr Wright’s injuries were so severe he had his foot amputated 15cm up his leg while he also suffered severe blood loss and had a tourniquet applied to his leg, a police fact sheet said.
Mr Foley suffered a fractured leg.
The court heard the officers had set up the RBT stop with flashing warning lights and were removing equipment from a stationary police car, which also had its rear warning lights flashing, when Thornton crashed into them.
Both officers were squashed between the two vehicles, court documents said.
Thornton, who works as a security equipment installer, rushed to the rear of his wrecked Fiat to grab a first aid kit before ambulances arrived and took both officers to hospital.
In a later interview with police, Thornton said he was driving across Rose Payten Drive when he picked up his mobile after seeing the screen illuminate with two text messages, court documents said.
His eyes were on his phone for 10 to 20 seconds and he only “returned his eyes to the road” when he heard a voice yelling “stop” and looked up to see the police cars and the flashing lights, the documents said.
Thornton told police he couldn’t remember if he applied the brake and that the force of the crash and the airbags knocked his glasses from his head.
Today, Thornton was refused bail after the court heard he had four prior P2 licence suspensions from January 2014.
Thornton had also received two further demerit point warning letters.
In 2016, the court heard he was banned from driving for a period for using a mobile when driving.
Thornton is facing six charges, including two counts of dangerous driving occasion grievous bodily harm, two more of causing bodily harm by misconduct while using a mobile phone, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and driving using a mobile phone.
In opposing Thornton’s application for bail, police prosecutor Leesa McEvoy told the court “there are no winners in this matter” and that he should be held on remand for the safety of the community considering his prior record.
Thornton’s Legal Aid solicitor Carl Minette told the court his client was involved in a “tragic set of circumstances” but was unlikely to drive because the police had seized his license.
“He was quite shocked when he heard the officer had his foot amputated, ”Mr Minette told the court.
Magistrate John Favretto said the crash was not caused by a momentary lapse of concentration by Thornton.
“Ten to 20 seconds travelling a 60km/h that’s a few hundred metres I would have thought,” he told the court.
Magistrate Favretto refused bail and said there was “an inevitability” that Thornton would be jailed if found guilty of the offences.
“The significant concern I have ... I note that he has a prior record for driving while using a mobile phone and in my experience that is unfortunately a very common offence,” Mr Favretto told the court.
“He was shown in the past that he has got a significant traffic record and just fails to comply with his obligations concerning other road users and the public at large generally and in this case two police officers going about their work,” he told the court.
The matter may be handed to the Director of Public Prosecutions and heard in the District Court, which hands out lengthier jail sentences than the local court.
Thornton will appear in Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the family of “Jono”, one of the injured policemen, had more than doubled its $10,000 target within the first two hours.
Family friend Amber Neilson, who started the GoFundMe page, wrote the campaign was designed to “help ease (the family’s) financial stresses so they can focus on what’s important: Jono’s recovery”
“He was just a bloke going to work, supporting his family and protecting his community,” Ms Nielson wrote.
“Lisa and Jono have a long and arduous road ahead of them. We all feel helpless and just want to support this beautiful family.”