Drug driver Luke Rogan calls woman “useless dog” for not being his scapegoat

A man who rolled his car on the Western Freeway while on drugs tried to get a friend to cop the blame and told her to “go die” when she eventually refused.

Luke Rogan was seen driving eratically on the Western Freeway before rolling his Honda Jazz. Photo: File

A man who tried to have a friend take the fall for a drug-fuelled car crash on a Victorian highway abused the woman when she eventually refused.

Luke Rogan, 31, appeared in Ballarat County Court on Wednesday for attempting to pervert the course of justice when he made an agreement with a female associate to avoid copping the blame for rolling his Honda Jazz on the Western Freeway near Gordon on September 5, 2022.

The court heard Rogan, who grew up in Perth, was seen driving erratically on the freeway that day about 7.30pm.

He was “all over the road” at speeds up to 110km/h, crossing lanes and swerving to block other drivers from overtaking him.

15 minutes later, he spun out of control, hit a guard barrier, and flipped his car, which landed 30m away on its roof.

Rogan tapped on the window of a witness’s car and told him his friend crashed the car and ran off.

He was taken to Ballarat Base Hospital, where it was discovered he had .66mh/l of meth and .08mg/l of amphetamines in his blood.

Rogan pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice and summary driving-related charges.

A week following, Rogan asked a friend if she would nominate herself as the driver of the car as he was on a community correction order and was afraid of going to prison and losing custody of his son.

He told the friend that because she had no criminal record, she would only “get a slap on the wrist”.

The woman initially went along with the plan, but backed out when the seriousness of the charges transpired.

Rogan unleashed a tirade of abuse by text message.

“Every photo or video you ever sent me is going viral,” he said.

“You are seriously the dumbest c--t I have ever met.”

Other epithets included “useless dog”, “maggot weak skank”, and “low life”.

He told the woman to “go die”.

Judge John Smallwood said Rogan had acted dishonestly, that remorse appeared a “distant concept”, and that his prospects of rehabilitation were “problematic”.

Rogan pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 300 days’ imprisonment with 317 days already served.

He remains on remand in relation to other charges, which will be heard in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court next week and are expected to be dropped.