Harrison Tate: Wallan carpenter jailed for almost killing teen on High St, Lalor

A young Wallan tradie who almost killed his carload of underage mates in his need for speed has been jailed.

Harrison Tate was sentenced on Tuesday August 24 in the Melbourne County Court.

A young hoon chippy who almost killed his 16-year-old friend when he dangerously sped through Lalor at night with a carload of underage passengers has been sentenced to nearly two years in youth detention.

Harrison James Tate, 20, was sentenced in the County Court after pleading guilty to charges including dangerous driving causing serious injury and conduct endangering persons.

The unruly P-plater lost control of his orange Ford Falcon on High St, Lalor, just after midnight on March 14 last year, slamming into a tree.

Tate was accelerating to overtake three vehicles he was travelling in convoy with when his car “bottomed out” on a bumpy section of road, and his car hit the gutter.

He overcorrected the out-of-control car and it crashed into the tree.

Tate and three of his passengers, his younger brother and two 15-year-olds, were not injured.

But his rear passenger, a 16-year-old boy, was left with life-threatening injuries.

Tate pulled the unresponsive victim from the car, put him in the recovery position and cleared his airways before paramedics rushed him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The teenager suffered brain bleeding and skull fractures, which left him on life support for weeks.

He was not released from hospital until September, and was left with ongoing cognitive damage that affected his speech and behaviour.

Judge Amanda Chambers said he would never fully overcome his injuries.

The court heard the boy had permanently lost sight in his left eye, would be unable to drive and was unable to pursue his dream of being a carpenter.

His injuries left him unable to read, limited his attention span to 30mins and left him was dependent on 24 hour care.

Judge Chambers said he required ongoing speech therapy and physiotherapy.

Tate was not on alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash, but had unsafely modified his car, which bore the number plates, “SICKBF”.

Investigators ruled the car had “bottomed out” due to its modified suspension, the weight of the five occupants, and because Tate was driving at an estimated 84km/h in the 60km/h zone at the time of the crash.

Tate was arrested at the scene and told police the car had “bounced like a trampoline” right before the crash.

Police seized his phone and found videos revealing Tate had previously committed numerous other driving offences, which he was charged with.

The videos, which were shown to the court, depicted Tate filming himself, the speedometer and the road as he sped down roads, including at 90km/h in a 60km/h zone.

In one video he captured himself speeding down an empty freeway at 100km/h behind an ambulance, in another he play-fought with a girl while driving and in others, someone else filmed as Tate performed burnouts.

Two videos showed Tate doing burnouts and revving his car’s wheels as someone held his car just above the spinning wheels.

Judge Chambers said Tate’s moral culpability for the crime was not low, and said general deterrence and protection of the community were overriding factors in her sentencing decision. “The sentence I impose must clearly signal to other young men the consequences that flow from driving dangerously.” she said.

Judge Chambers sentenced Tate to 22 months in a youth detention facility and fined him $1300.

He was also disqualified him from driving for four years.

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