Mark Johnston sentenced for Chatswood, Crispe Lane crash
A mother was left with horrific injuries after being hit by a man in a Toyota HiLux on a stormy March day. Today the 63-year-old driver was punished for his negligent driving.
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A driver told a court he is haunted by the horror injuries inflicted on a mother he hit at a crossing in Chatswood.
Mark Robert Johnston, 63, of Wheeler Heights was sentenced at Hornsby Local Court on Friday after pleading guilty to a charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, which happened on March 5 this year.
According to police facts, Mr Johnston was driving along Albert Ave in Chatswood when he came to a stop at an intersection at Crispe Lane and indicated right, oblivious to a sign which clearly showed no right turns between 10am to 6pm Monday to Sunday.
At the same time, a 36-year-old mother and her child were walking on the footpath, about to cross the intersection when they checked for traffic and proceeded walking, police facts state.
Mr Johnston hit the woman with his Toyota Hilux.
He got out of his car to assist them while passersbys who “heard the collision” stopped to help and emergency services were called, court documents read.
The woman and her daughter were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where the woman underwent surgery for a “left transcervical neck of femur fracture”, which required “a left hip cannulated screw”.
A few days later on March 21 Johnston was asked to co-operate with police in an interview where he told the officers he often drives to Chatswood but hadn’t taken that route before and only saw the mother and child while he was turning.
He told police he “attempted to stop the vehicle by pressing on the brakes”, but it was too late.
He said there was “poor visibility due to the weather, rain and traffic,” police facts state.
Johnston’s lawyer made it clear his client made “a mistake” during court proceedings on Friday.
“He understands it’s his responsibility to watch out for pedestrians but he did not see her and veered to miss her but because of the water it impacted her,” the lawyer said.
“He has an image in his mind which has traumatised him. It caused a fractured femur. I want to make it clear there is no blame on her. It was simply a mistake he made, that he wasn’t authorised to turn into that lane.
“He’d never come from that intersection before. I submit he has a very strong subjective case. He nets about $2000 a week, he’s the sole bread winner of the family.”
He said his client needed his licence for his family and work.
“His wife doesn’t drive, she has a licence but has anxiety. Your honour will note he needs his licence for his employment.
“It wasn’t like he was doing burn outs. Speed wasn’t a factor, he was just trying to take care but perhaps got distracted by the storm.
“Certainly, he’s learnt his lesson. He’s a mature man and made a mistake. Would society really be served retribution by cancelling his licence?”
Magistrate Louise McManus said with negligent driving matters, a disqualification and conviction should be recorded.
“They’re one of the hardest of sentencing exercises because they’re not deliberate, they’re often people like your client of good character where they’ve made a mistake and there are severe consequences,” Magistrate McManus said.
“He wasn’t trying to run over a woman and her child. I accept he wasn’t trying to do it.”
Mr Johnston was convicted and received a community corrections order for 12 months. He was also disqualified from driving for a year.
“You had empathy for the victim but there are the aspects that I have to consider, such as, making you accountable for what you did on that day and the pain caused to the victim,” Magistrate McManus said.