Nicholas Stephenson: Alleged hoon allegedly flees Hoppers Crossing crash
A man was on bail when he allegedly smashed a car into a home in Melbourne’s west, but a court heard his offending was a “cry for help”.
West
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An alleged hoon who smashed a stolen car into a home in Melbourne’s west was on bail at the time for other alleged driving offences, a court has heard.
Nicholas Stephenson, 33, of Werribee allegedly fled the scene after ploughing into the front yard of a Kingston Boulevard, Hoppers Crossing, home on January 16, Sunshine Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday.
Stephenson was allegedly speeding while behind the wheel of a stolen blue Mazda when he lost control after hitting a speed bump.
The car careened into the front yard of a nearby home, smashing through two large brick pillars and a tree.
The court heard CCTV captured Stephenson and his girlfriend as they crawled out of the totalled car and allegedly ran from the scene.
The force of the collision flung debris from the pillars up to 30 metres from the crash site.
Just days earlier Stephenson had allegedly reached speeds of more than 120km/h in residential streets while fleeing police, the court heard.
Police told the court Stephenson was allegedly unlicensed at the time of the offence.
“He’s unemployed, he’s a user of methamphetamine, he’s going to continue to place the public at risk,” the police prosecutor told the court.
“He’s a recipe for disaster.”
Stephenson’s lawyer Neville Rudston told the court his client was trapped in a cycle of offending but “crying out” for help.
He urged the court to release his client on bail so he could seek help to curb his offending behaviour.
Stephenson faces charges including dangerous driving while pursued by police, speeding, reckless conduct, unlicensed driving, theft, breaching his bail and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
Magistrate Alanna Duffy refused Stephenson’s bail application, telling the court “extraordinarily dangerous driving” had been alleged.
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