Ewan Stubbings appeals sentence severity over hit and run at Forresters Beach

The young plumber who had been drinking before he got behind the wheel of his Ford Ranger and hit a man in Forresters Beach has appealed the severity of his “lenient” sentence.

The young plumber sentenced over a hit and run at Forresters Beach has successfully appealed its severity so he will be back behind a wheel sooner.

Ewan Stubbings, from East Kurrajong, was sentenced at Gosford Local Court in February over a hit and run on Mistview Circuit on October 28 2021.

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of causing bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle, fail to stop and assist after impact causing injury, negligent driving as well as assaulting an officer and resisting an officer.

The court heard Mr Stubbings had been drinking at the pub all afternoon before getting behind the wheel of his Ford Ranger. He was cutting laps of Mistview Circuit when he hit a local resident and drove off.

Ewan Stubbings leaving court after his initial sentence.

On February 24, Magistrate Jennifer Price sentenced him to an 18 month community corrections order with a $1750 fine, 75 hours of community service and driving disqualification of 15 months.

Mr Stubbings appealed the severity of the sentence in Gosford District Court on Wednesday before Judge Richard Weinstein SC.

His criminal lawyer Marc Riviere asked for his driving disqualification period to be shaved by three months to a total term of 12 months. He said Mr Stubbings, who hadn’t driven since his arrest in October, needed to drive for work.

Mr Riviere asked Judge Weinstein to take into account the time he had already been off the road and his steps towards rehabilitation for mental health issues.

Judge Weinstein commented that the part of the sentence could already be seen as “lenient” and said it needed to include a period of disqualification.

“The events of the night are alarming not only for the victim but for him (Mr Stubbings),” he said.

However he said factors such as Mr Stubbings’s age, occupation, his completion of the traffic offenders program and positive testimonials from customers worked in his favour.

“He was a plumber and clearly well loved by his clients,” he said.

Judge Weinstein granted the request for the reduced disqualification period which will now expire on February 23 2023.

“You have had a bad time over the last little while but there’s no reason why you can’t turn your life around,” he said to Mr Stubbings.

“By all accounts you are a good citizen and a good plumber.”

EARLIER – FEBRUARY 24 2021

A young man who spent the afternoon at the pub was cutting laps of a Forresters Beach street before he hit a local resident and drove off.

Ewan Stubbings has been sentenced in Gosford Local Court over the hit and run in Mistview Circuit on October 28 2021.

An agreed set of facts tendered to the court stated that Mr Stubbings had issues with alcohol and “once sober was remorseful for his actions”.

The facts stated that on October 28, Mr Stubbings drove his Ford Ranger to Bateau Bay Hotel and “consumed a number of alcoholic beverages over a few hours”.

He left the hotel and around 7.25pm was driving along Mistview Circuit in Forresters Beach.

“He travelled around the loop road twice … numerous residents heard and observed the vehicle travelling at speed,” the facts read.

Ewan Stubbings had three months shaved off his disqualification period for driving.

Stubbings then hit a parked VW Amarok before continuing to drive.

The court heard residents came out of their homes after hearing the impact, with the victim and his wife walking up the street.

“CCTV from a nearby house captured the victim walking on the road towards the kerb,” the court documents read.

“The accused is observed travelling along Mistview Circuit and failed to see the victim standing on the road, impacting with him with the front nearside of the vehicle.

“The victim was heavily impacted with the roadway and emergency services were contacted. “The accused failed to stop and render assistance and continued along The Entrance Rd.”

The victim was taken to Gosford Hospital with a suspected fractured hip and head injuries.

The court heard that the victim’s wife took a photo of Mr Stubbings’s vehicle which identified his registration number.

Mr Stubbings was sentenced at Gosford Court. Picture: David Swift

Later that night, police went to Mr Stubbings’s house in Bateau Bay and found the Ford Ranger out the front.

The facts stated Mr Stubbings was asleep and when police woke him he was “belligerent and incoherent”, appearing to be under the influence of alcohol and or an illicit substance.

When he was arrested, he tried to escape and in doing so kneed a senior constable in the left testicle.

He was taken to Gosford Police Station where he was interviewed and told police he was the driver of the Ford Ranger, was driving intoxicated and had removed number plates from his vehicle.

Mr Stubbings’s criminal lawyer Marc Riviere said Mr Stubbings had no criminal history and was attempting to get a plumbing business off the ground.

“He didn’t realise he’d hit (the victim) and said he would have stopped had he known he caused that amount of injury,” Mr Riviere said.

He said Mr Stubbings had take the matter very seriously and sought out help for his alcohol and mental health issues.

“He realises alcohol has a very poor affect on his behaviour and he uses it to deal with stresses in his life,” he said.

Magistrate Jennifer Price said she accepted that Mr Stubbings had taken substantial steps to get his life back together and had sought help before the incident.

“There’s positive things in terms of prospects of rehabilitation. No doubt this had been a significant wake up call,” she said.

However she said general deterrence for the offences was needed as the situation could have “ended much worse than it did”.