Sam Conway jailed for seven years over fatal crash in stolen Land Rover
A man who was “on the run” for stabbing a man in the Toowoon Bay car park before causing a fatal head-on crash in a stolen Land Rover has learned his fate in court.
Central Coast
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Sam Conway’s life was spiralling out of control.
He had broken up with his girlfriend and the mother of his child in September 2018 and by December was in the depths of an ice-fuelled binge.
For the first time court documents reveal how the then 26-year-old stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s new male friend before going “on the run” from police and later stealing a car and fatally crashing head-on into a family man, Darren Hill, who was simply heading home after a night shift.
Conway, now 28, was sentenced to four years jail with a non-parole period of two years and four months in Gosford District Court in December 2019 for reckless wounding in company, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, custody of a knife in public and possessing a prohibited weapon.
An agreed set of facts states Conway’s ex-girlfriend had driven to the Toowoon Bay beach car park about 10.45pm on December 17, 2018, with a new male friend.
The pair were sitting in her car when Conway and his estranged brother James Conway pulled in behind them, blocking their car.
The facts state Conway got out and tasered his ex-girlfriend’s friend as he sat in the car before stabbing him in the chest and upper arm.
His brother James Conway made her “swear” on her child’s life that she wasn’t sleeping with any other men before Sam Conway walked around to the back of the car and suddenly headbutted her, causing her nose to bleed.
James Conway, then 25, was arrested on Christmas Day 2018 and the court heard he was later sentenced two years and three months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and four months, for reckless wounding in company and intimidation.
Court documents state Sam Conway was still “on the run” from police when he stole a white Land Rover Discovery from a house at Terrigal before being captured on CCTV going through the McDonald’s drive-through at Bateau Bay shortly before 4am on January 15.
He had been out earlier with four other people looking to buy drugs when he turned left out of Mingara Drive onto Wyong Rd.
A court heard he veered onto the wrong side of the road, into the bus lane and accelerated harshly up to 120km/h passing two oncoming cars which had to take evasive action.
He braked slightly as he took the bend before seeing Mr Hill’s Kia sedan and braked again, colliding with the car travelling 73.4km/h.
A court heard the force of the impact shunted Mr Hill’s car 20m backwards and Conway immediately got out and fled on foot.
He was later arrested and charged with the stabbing and assault at Toowoon Bay along with the manslaughter death of Mr Hill, stealing the Land Rover and driving while disqualified.
After he pleaded guilty and was sentenced over the stabbing and assault he faced a Judge alone trial, which found him guilty of the manslaughter and driving offences.
His defence, that he wasn’t the one driving, imploded when the court was shown vision of him driving through the McDonald’s at Bateau Bay at 3.44am before the fatal crash.
In March District Court Judge Stephen Norrish sentenced Conway to 11 years jail with a non-parole period of seven years to commence at the end of his first sentence on June 21, 2021.
He was also disqualified from driving for seven years, to commence at the end of his second sentence.
Judge Norrish said “it is clear the prisoner fled the scene without any regard to Mr Hill’s welfare solely to avoid apprehension and punishment for his obvious criminal conduct”.
“The other thing I want to say beyond the formal remarks on sentence is; and these are remarks both for the benefit of the prisoner and for the information of the family of the deceased; when one is sentencing somebody for killing another person in whatever circumstances they may be, murder, manslaughter, dangerous driving causing death or whatever, it should not be thought for a moment that any term of imprisonment reflects the value of the life of the person who is deceased, or the effect upon the family of the deceased,” Judge Norrish said.
Conway wrote a note to the court expressing his remorse but Judge Norrish rejected it as a case of “confess and avoid” and Conway was not genuine in his contrition.
“He states that he should have stayed and tried to help Mr Hill, which is true and described himself as, `running away like a coward’ which is also true,” Judge Norrish said.
The Judge said Mr Hill had no way of avoiding the crash, Conway was on a bond for driving while disqualified at the time, was “on the run” from police for other crimes and was driving a vehicle he stole before fleeing to avoid arrest.
“In other words, in circumstances where he had absolutely no right to be on the road,” Judge Norris said.
Conway, now aged 28, will be eligible for parole in June 2028.
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