Belanglo State Forest: Teen sentenced for dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm
Friends celebrating the end of school were injured, including one who had a punctured lung and fractured cheekbone, when the Toyota Prado they were hanging on to hit a tree in the Belanglo State Forest.
The Bowral News
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A teen has avoided jail time after she drove with five friends clinging to the side of the car through the Belanglo State Forest.
The teenager appeared in Moss Vale Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and furious driving occasioning bodily harm.
According to court documents, the now 18-year-old and her eight friends were celebrating their last year of school with a camping trip to Belanglo State Forest in July last year. The court heard the teens had taken it in turns driving the vehicle.
Police facts show they collectively decided some of the group would hang on to the outside of the car, with two teens clinging to the passenger side, two hanging onto the driver’s side, and one holding onto the back.
Meanwhile, court documents show there were three passengers inside the Toyota Prado with the P-plater driver.
The car was travelling along the dirt road when the driver lost control on a left-hand bend and fishtailed, according to police facts. The facts state the car crashed into a tree and four of the five teens clinging to it were thrown from the car, while the fifth passenger jumped before the impact.
The collision forced the car to rotate 90 degrees so it came to rest diagonally across the path, according to court documents. The court heard the driver provided assistance to her injured friends after the crash.
Documents show one of the friends suffered a fractured cheekbone, a punctured lung, a broken collarbone, a concussion, face lacerations, and numerous scratches. She was airlifted to Liverpool Hospital and had to undergo several surgeries, according to the court documents.
The facts show the four other teens had various injuries ranging from fractures and ligament damage to cuts and bruises. The teen’s lawyer told the court the injuries had been fully healed since the crash.
She told the court her client was extremely remorseful for her “immature” actions.
“She’s a young woman who has, on all evidence before your honour, learned her lesson,” she said.
The court heard the teen is a person of “excellent character” who frequently volunteers for charitable organisations.
The magistrate said he acknowledged the teen’s “unfettered remorse” and believed immaturity had played a large part in the crash.
“I don’t think anyone in this room has not done something reckless when they were young,” he said.
The magistrate told the teen not to let this error in judgment cloud her bright future.
“You’ve made a mistake,” he said.
“You’ve got a good future ahead of you.”
However, the magistrate determined there was a need to deter young people from this offending and to emphasise the responsibility of drivers.
He sentenced the teen to two year-long community corrections orders, disqualified her from driving for a year, and ordered her to complete 75 hours of community service.
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