Mazen Kabbara: Abbotsbury crash driver sentenced to prison

A vigilante whose high speed pursuit of a teenage trio who stole his car from his driveway led to the deaths of two youths has been sentenced.

A vigilante whose high speed pursuit of a teenage trio who stole his car from his driveway led to the deaths of two youths has been sentenced.

Mazen Kabbara, 39, was sentenced in Mt Druitt Local Court on Thursday where the court heard that the sanctity of life is far more precious than that of material possessions.

Friends gather at the memorial of the two teenagers. Picture: Monique Harmer

The ordeal started about 4am on November 1, 2020 when Kabbara woke to discover his family’s Holden Commodore had been taken. While his wife contacted police, Kabbara went after the thieves.

The court heard on spotting the teenage trio the 39-year-old man began his pursuit with a third car, a Toyota Camry, unsuccessfully attempting to block his path.

Magistrate George Breton, on reading the facts, said Kabbara chased the thieves for about 12km with a witness report estimating the speed of the cars to be about 130km with a two metre gap.

A second witness at a later point on the road estimated the speed to be approximately 150km/h.

The court heard Kabbara failed to drop off the chase on six occasions, including at a point when the teenagers were throwing things at his car.

On multiple occasions the cars collided as the stolen vehicle broke.

The pursuit ended when the stolen Commodore crashed into a power pole at the intersection of Cowpasture Rd and The Horsley Drive, with the 17-year-old driver and 15-year-old passenger in the back seat ejected from the vehicle. Both died at the scene with a second 17-year-old taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Magistrate Breton said the fatality of two young boys was a loss for us all.

Mr Breton said the loss of the two young boys was a loss for us all.

“I pass on my sincere condolences to their family,” he said. “I also have no doubt that the community has suffered a serious loss.

“His (Kabbara) level of negligence was extraordinarily high and it is just luck that he didn’t lose his own life that night as well.”

The magistrate said he believed Kabbara was remorseful for his actions and had shown accountability but his sentence must strongly deter others from engaging in similar behaviour.

In a statement Kabbara said he regretted chasing the boys.

“Being a parent, I can’t imagine how their parents feel,” he said. “I wish I never got in the car.”

The two teenagers died at the scene. Picture: Monique Harmer

Mr Breton said Kabbara made a deliberate choice to drive.

“His behaviour crucially contributed to the death of two boys and he must be denounced for embarking on that journey. No sentence other than that full time imprisonment would be appropriate.

“The sanctity of life is far more precious than that of material possessions.”

Kabbara had previously pleadedto two counts of negligent driving occasioning death and lone counts of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and driving with an illicit drug present.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison with a non parole period of nine months.

He will be eligible for parole in November.