Mt Annan drunk driver jailed over tragic death of teenager
Judge tells drunk driver who killed a 17-year-old boy after a Fast and Furious-style joy-ride the fatal outcome was “almost inevitable”.
Macarthur
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A drunk driver responsible for a horrific eight-car crash which killed a 17-year-old boy on Good Friday last year will be locked up for at least a decade.
Robbie David Crowley, of Mt Annan, embarked on a Fast and Furious-style joy-ride after fleeing a house party at his girlfriend’s Kearns home after he was accused of cheating in a game of cards.
The 27-year-old was spotted hooning along Raby Rd at an estimated 144km/h triggering a police pursuit.
Crowley turned into Spitfire Drive, Raby then a side street, with police losing sight of the high-powered Holden Commodore.
Crowley then continued on his fatal journey, ignoring two road signs to drive the wrong direction up a Campbelltown Rd off-ramp before continuing to speed towards his friend’s St Helen’s Park home.
The Mt Annan man, who was later found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.12, side-swiped at least three cars before ultimately veering onto the wrong side of Campbelltown Rd and colliding head-first with a Kia Sportage, operating as an Uber.
A 17-year-old boy, weeks shy of his 18th birthday and dreaming of becoming an apprentice, died at the scene.
Crowley was dragged from his car, which soon erupted into flames, as he and the passengers of the Uber were raced to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Judge David Frierson told Crowley, who can’t remember any of the furious drive, it was hard to imagine the events ending any other way.
“What happened to the offender was almost inevitable ... (that) he would seriously injure other people and himself,” he said
“It only came to an end when he crashed and the car caught fire.
“He wasn’t deterred by the speed limits, road signs, the fact he had been drinking. It was dangerous in the extreme.”
The 27-year-old, who had pleaded guilty five years earlier to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, apologised to the victim’s family when he took the stand on Friday.
“All the pain I feel and carry will stay with me forever,” he said. “I’m sorry to everyone for what I put you through.”
The victim’s mum, in a powerful emotion-charged statement read to the court, said the death of her youngest son had destroyed her life
“I lost my baby boy, my everything, my reason for life,” she said.
Mr Frierson dismissed the suggestion Crowley’s anxiety had played a role in his deadly actions.
“It seems to me to be inherently implausible that a person with anxiety, even in a panicked state, would drive these speeds to withdraw from some perceived confrontation,” he said.
Crowley’s lawyer Chadi Irana said the family was considering all options.
“We have not lost sight of the fact that he injured others and other people have died,” he said. “He maintains his remorse for that.
“We just felt (the sentence) was a bit crushing.”
Crowley was convicted for manslaughter and three counts of aggravated driving causing grievous bodily harm, sentenced to 14 years and three months prison with a non-parole period of ten years.
He will be eligible for release in 2027 as a 36-year-old.
More to come.
