Kane Cobill sentenced for burnouts at Thirlmere roundabout

A young spray painter was caught doing burnouts on the wrong side of the road in his Holden Commodore after an afternoon at the pub.

A 23-year-old has told a court he finally understands his responsibility as a driver after he was charged with doing burnouts and driving dangerously after leaving a pub in a rural town southwest of Sydney.

Kane Kevin Cobill, of Thirlmere, faced Picton Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two counts of prolong sustained loss of traction and drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous.

According to court documents Cobill left the Bargo Hotel with “self-professed car enthusiast” friends about 6.20pm on Saturday, January 30, and got into his white Holden Commodore.

After watching another car do a burnout, Cobill drove behind the car and into a cloud of white smoke with low visibility, accelerating so rapidly his rear wheels lost traction with the road.

Kane Kevin Cobill (right) pictured with his father outside Picton Local Court. Picture: Lauren Ferri

“He continued acceleration and continued to lose traction with the road but increased in speed,” a police fact sheet says.

As he sped up and passed the pub, Cobill crossed the centre of the road and onto the oncoming lane for about 70m, exceeding the 60km/h speed limit.

“He partook in a significant burnout and made no effort to stop the behaviour when he veered onto the wrong side of the road,” police facts say.

Later that same night Cobill was driving along Thirlmere Way at Thirlmere with a group of friends in the car when he came up to a roundabout.

He dropped the Commodore into first gear and “depressed the accelerator harshly to cause the rear wheels to lose traction”, court documents state.

Cobill continued the burnout for seven to 10 seconds over a distance of 140m in a residential street where nearby families watched on and a witness contacted police.

Police went to the 23-year-old’s address two separate times in the days following both incidents and issued him with court attendance notices.

Cobill, who is a qualified spray painter by trade, pleaded guilty to the offences during his first court appearance.

Kane Kevin Cobill was given a community corrections order for doing burnouts outside a pub and in a residential street. Picture: Lauren Ferri.

During his sentencing on Tuesday, the court heard he owns a property, has a mortgage and provides for his fiance, who is three months pregnant.

The court also heard that after completing a Traffic Offenders Program, Cobill has finally understood the severity of his actions.

“His insight is now clear and he says the course should be compulsory because it is such an eye opener,” his lawyer told the court.

“Cars are his hobby and he helps his mates with them … but he knows they are also his biggest problem,’ his lawyer said, noting two previous offences for burnouts in 2014 and 2020.

Magistrate Mark Douglass acknowledged Cobill’s prospects for rehab but said the matters before the court were “serious”.

“The consequence of you losing control of the vehicle could lead to your injury, a mate’s or the death of someone,” the magistrate said.

“There’s an unpredictable nature in relation to driving in such a manner … there can be consequences that will be with you forever.”

Magistrate Douglass told Cobill he had gone “one step too far” and issued a community corrections order for 12 months in an attempt to deter the 23-year-old from further offending.

The magistrate also warned Cobill of the responsibilities of being a father, noting the young man’s support of his own in court.

“Your dad would rather be anywhere else today but he’s here … when your child gets to your age now, tell him you finally know how it felt,” Magistrate Douglass said.

“I imagine you probably owe him a coffee and a hand shake when you leave.”