ACT Supreme Court, Ameed Hamdan sentenced over girlfriends road death
A man whose negligent driving caused the death of his 16-year-old girlfriend has learned his fate. Read the heartbreaking statements from her family.
Canberra Star
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A self-proclaimed “drift king” whose negligent driving caused the death of his teenage girlfriend has been spared time behind bars.
In September, a jury found Ameen Hamdan, 20, guilty of negligent driving, causing death and negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm over a horror crash on October 31 2020, which took the life of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Saaghy.
Ms Saaghy died three days following the crash after she sustained catastrophic head injuries and internal injuries.
Meanwhile, the crash caused Hamdan‘s friend Zyad Damdash to break his arm.
On Monday, during a heated sentencing hearing, members of Ms Saaghy’s family gave heartbreaking victim impact statements.
Her mother, Claire Wood, said her daughter‘s death felt like “burning in the flames of hell”.
“I can tell you what hell looks like”, she said. “It’s this.”
Ms Saaghy’s stepsister Victoria Wood said, “Alexis should be with us”, and her other stepsister Michaela Wood said she had lost her sister and ”best friend”.
In written submissions, Hamdan‘s lawyer John Purnell outlined the ways in which his client’s life had changed since the crash.
He said Hamdan now lived with an acquired brain injury, was mostly blind in his left eye, suffered from PTSD, major depression and anxiety and could no longer pursue carpentry as a career.
“(Hamdan) may have suffered momentary inattention or misjudgment,” Mr Purnell said.
“What happened to Ameen is the sort of bad luck or inattention that could have happened to any of us as teenagers when we were driving with our mates and girlfriend, and in a moment of laughter and high spirits, an accident occurs.”
The lawyer also said Hamdan had expressed remorse by sending letters to Saaghy‘s family.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t feel how terrible the outcome was and how responsible I am for Alexis’ death and causing a badly broken arm for my friend Dandash,” the letter said.
“Alexis was the kindest and most sweetest girl I knew, and immediately after I knew about Alexis‘ death, I faced the most serious depression and anxiety and felt that life was not worth living.”
Both the defence lawyer and prosecutors submitted Hamdan was an appropriate candidate for an intensive corrections order or a suspended jail sentence.
In sentencing, Justice Elkaim noted drugs and alcohol were not factors in this case and outlined conflicting evidence about speed presented in the trial.
He said due to the wet conditions on the night of the crash, even if Hamdan was driving at or just below the speed limit, he would be going too fast for the conditions.
Justice Elkaim also said videos from Saaghy from the night of the crash depicted Hamdan referring to himself as a drift king as he was shown to “drift” in the car.
The judge said he was tasked with sentencing a “decent” young man who had suffered life-changing injuries.
He sentenced Hamdan to a 24-month intensive corrections order.
Additionally, he ordered Hamdan to pay $2500 for driving with more passengers than he was allowed. He was disqualified from driving.
Justice Elkaim said he doubted anyone would be “satisfied” by his sentence.
“I’m sorry if you are not satisfied,” he said
“But I ask you to respect each other and leave court with dignity and respect.
Outside court, Ms Saaghy‘s maternal grandmother Maria Mura was seen holding onto a portrait of her granddaughter.
“I helped deliver her when she was being born, and I prepared her for death,” Ms Mura said.
“I want everyone to see this little girl’s face and what that idiot did.
“I am incandescent with rage.”
Father Joel Saaghy said there were “no words” to describe the loss of his daughter.
“She had such great ambitions, and to know she‘s not able to fulfil them is heartbreaking”, he said.
Mr Saaghy called for parents of teenagers to take accountability.
“Educate your kids. Let them know the dangers,” he said.
“Something as simple as making a mistake perhaps does have significant consequences.
“If you’re not able to take ownership of them sometimes you need to live with those mistakes as well.
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