Philip Nguyen fronts court over serious driving charges

A learner driver’s stupidity in allowing four drunk young women to ride on the roof of a Mini Cooper to celebrate their team’s sporting success nearly proved fatal.

Learner driver Philip Nguyen has gone to jail for allowing four drunk young women to ride on top of his car, causing one of them to suffer serious injuries after they fell.

A learner driver who allowed four drunk young women to ride atop a Mini Cooper to celebrate their team’s sporting success nearly costing one of them her life has been sent to jail.

Philip Nguyen, 24, fronted the County Court for sentencing on Tuesday after earlier pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury and failing to render assistance after an accident.

Judge Mark Gamble said despite Nguyen’s youth, early guilty plea and good prospects of rehabilitation, the offending warranted a prison sentence and ordered that he serve 12 months of the 28-month term in jail before being eligible for parole.

Nguyen was driving a friend’s Mini Cooper at Altona foreshore and surrounding streets on October 31, 2022 when Samoans gathered for a parade to celebrate their team’s success at the Rugby League World Cup.

About 7.30pm on October 31, 2022 Chyeann Sao, 20, and 17-year-old Margaret Paisa who had been drinking climbed atop the Mini Cooper, driven by Nguyen, which they recognised from another rugby celebration.

A teenage girl suffered critical injuries after falling from a car driven by learner driver Philip Nguyen in Altona while celebrating Samoa's Rugby League World Cup win. Picture: Supplied

Ms Sao used her phone to record the parade from atop the vehicle. They got off when the car stopped and later that evening, they saw the Mini Cooper and climbed back on it to join 17-year-old Kelesi Mapa and 21-year-old Latonga.

Nguyen started accelerating and driving erratically while loud music was being played and Ms Paisa was filming the parade.

As soon as Ms Paisa said “Bro, if we fall off, I swear to God” Nguyen took a sharp turn and everyone except Ms Sao fell onto the road.

Ms Sao filmed Ms Paisa and Ms Mapa as they lay on the road unconscious and laughed with Nguyen.

Judge Gamble said Nguyen drove for about 50m before he reversed then drove away. About 10 minutes later, he returned but drove past the scene.

Ms Paisa was taken to The Royal Melbourne Hospital where she remained in a coma for two weeks before receiving life saving brain surgery.

Ms Mapa received minor injuries.

“The dangerousness involved in your driving was substantial, to have driven in the manner that you did while alcohol-affected people were on the roof was always going to end badly,” Judge Gamble said.

“What is surprising, given the height from which they fell and the surface on which they fell, was that one or both of them were not even more seriously injured, and that Ms Latonga avoided being injured altogether.

“As bad as this avoidable tragedy was, it could have been even worse. The fact that it wasn’t can be put down to good fortune rather than desire,” he said.