Justin Croaker: Dubbo man’s ‘selfish actions’ after fleeing the scene of a crash and leaving behind an injured passenger

A man who led police on a high speed chase through the streets of Dubbo before crashing and leaving an injured passenger in the car has been labelled “selfish” by a magistrate.

A man who led police on a high speed chase through the streets of Dubbo before crashing and leaving an injured passenger in the car has been labelled “selfish” by a magistrate.

Justin Croaker, 27, appeared in Dubbo Local Court late last week via video link from custody following his arrest on May 22 last year.

Court documents tendered to court reveal Croaker was disqualified when he was spotted by police on Cobbora Road and after officers activated all warning devices, he “accelerated harshly” away.

A police pursuit was initiated with Croaker reaching speeds of up to 170km/h through Myall Street, Wheelers Lane and Cobbora Road, driving on the wrong side and doing “U-turns” to evade police.

A fully marked highway patrol vehicle took over the pursuit, however it was abandoned a short time later due to Croaker’s “dangerous driving,” court documents reveal.

Justin Croaker was sentenced in Dubbo Local Court yesterday. Picture: Facebook

About 12.43am, police found the vehicle lodged on top of a pile of wood in the front yard of a property in Fitzroy Street, locating a female trapped in the car due to her injuries and the damage.

Police were not able to find Croaker, and the female passenger was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital and later transferred to Westmead for specialist treatment.

It was later revealed she sustained facial lacerations, rib fractures and multiple spinal injuries.

Later that morning, investigators attended a house on Websdale Street in Dubbo where they spoke to Croaker who attempted to report his vehicle as stolen, along with his phone and wallet which he said were inside.

Croaker was arrested and taken to Dubbo Police Station, with photographs taken of the 27-year-old revealing injuries “around the neck and shoulder area which would be consistent with wearing a seatbelt in the driver’s seat”.

He was charged with police pursuit, drive recklessly, cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of motor vehicle, fail to stop and assist after impact and drive motor vehicle during disqualification period.

The court heard from Croaker’s lawyer, Bridget Byrnes, who also addressed a separate matter from Wee Waa where her client breached an AVO when he broke the fly screen door of his mother’s house.

He was charged with destroying property and contravening an AVO, but Byrnes told Magistrate Stephen Olischlager the matter did not cross the section five threshold – where a court is satisfied that full-time imprisonment is the only suitable sentence.

Ms Byrnes did concede that the threshold was crossed for the police pursuit, noting it was “a very serious matter” which was “well above” the mid-range.

In her submission, Ms Byrnes told Mr Olischlager the seriousness of the matter was reduced due to the time of the offence with “no traffic in sight”, coupled with the injuries of the female passenger not requiring surgical intervention.

Justin Croaker was sentenced to two years in prison in Dubbo Local Court.

She listed Croaker’s subjective circumstances noting his troubled upbringing, unstable accommodation and being surrounded by violence, resulting in her client turning to drugs at the age of 16.

“He feels sick to his stomach, (he has) a lot of hurt and pain for the victim,” Ms Byrnes told the court.

“He wished it didn’t turn out the way it did.”

While accepting the police pursuit was late at night, Mr Olischlager described the offence as being “serious”, telling Croaker how fortunate he was that no other vehicle was involved.

“You put other people in the vehicle in peril due to your selfish actions,” Mr Olischlager told Croaker.

He ultimately handed Croaker an aggregate sentence of two years, starting on April 10 this year and concluding on April 9, 2024.

A non-parole period of 14 months was set, which will expire on June 9, 2023, and Croaker was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Croaker was given a two-year community corrections order for the other matters heard before the court, including contravening an AVO, which was called up from Moree Local Court from 2019.