Nathan White, the driver who killed teenager Patrick Bell, to serve no more jail time

A speeding drunk driver who struck and killed a teenager in Ballarat will spend no more time behind bars.

Patrick Bell, 17, (pictured with his mother, Rovinnia Richardson) died on June 30, 2015, when driver Nathan White hit him while he was crossing Chisholm Street, Black Hill.

The driver who killed pedestrian Patrick Bell in Ballarat nearly seven years ago will face no more jail time following his sentence in the Appeals Court on Friday.

Nathan White, 40, was found guilty by jury on December 10, 2021 of one charge of dangerous driving causing death.

White was drinking with friends and playing competition billiards at a hotel before the fatal incident on the morning of June 30, 2015.

He was driving on Chisholm St in Black Hill, Ballarat about 12.03am when he struck 17-year-old Patrick Bell, who was crossing the road.

A breath test taken roughly 15 minutes afterwards showed White had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.09; another test an hour and a half later returned a reading of 0.101.

One analyst of the scene estimated White’s car was travelling 96km/h in the 60km/h collision zone, though that speed was disputed.

Nevertheless, Judge Paul Lacava said the evidence “clearly established” White had a blood alcohol concentration about twice the legal limit, and told White the jury was “entitled to find that prior to the collision with Patrick Bell, you were driving too fast in all the circumstances, and that your ability to drive was affected because you’d been drinking.

“You saw Patrick Bell, but it was too late,” he said.

“You swerved to avoid colliding with him, but you immediately lost control of your vehicle, which rotated in an anticlockwise direction.”

The rear of White’s car was said to have struck Mr Bell, throwing him across the road.

During a call with triple-0, White could be heard trying to help Mr Bell, who later died at Ballarat Hospital.

White co-operated fully with police and expressed remorse.

He was tried in 2017 and convicted of culpable driving causing death, a more serious charge than dangerous driving causing death.

He successfully appealed the conviction, which was overturned in March 2020.

White’s retrial, delayed by Covid, occurred in November and December last year and was attended each day by Mr Bell’s mother.

The court heard White had suffered flashbacks, insomnia, and panic attacks since the accident, and because of media coverage of his trial, had received death threats and been harassed at work.

He was said to have become estranged from his wife and children.

“You have had this matter hanging over your head now for almost seven years, during which your life has been put on hold,” Mr Lacava said.

White was sentenced to 904 days’ imprisonment, already served.

His licence was cancelled and he was disqualified from holding a licence for 5 years from October 31, 2017.