Thomas Towle loses appeal against length of sentence received after he killed six teenagers in Mildura crash

UPDATE 5.05pm: AN appeal by Mildura killer driver Thomas Towle against his jail sentence has been refused by unanimous decision.

UPDATE 5.05pm: AN appeal by Mildura killer driver Thomas Towle against his jail sentence has been refused by unanimous decision.

In the Court of Appeal, President Chris Maxwell and Justices Peter Buchanan and David John Ashley agreed the sentencing judge's initial sentence should not be interfered with.

Towle was not in court for the judgment, which was beamed via videolink to Mildura where families of the victims watched on.

Towle killed six teenagers and seriously injured four others in a Mildura crash in February 2006 when he veered into a group of teenagers who had left a 16th birthday party.

He was driving home from his brother’s house with his four-year-old son on his lap at the time.

He fled the crash scene on foot and disappeared for five hours, leaving his two young children behind in his car.

A Supreme Court jury acquitted him of six counts of culpable driving but found him guilty of six counts of the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death, and four of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

In sentencing, Justice Philip Cummins described Towle’s driving as being “within the worst category of dangerous driving”.

In March last year Towle was sentenced to a maximum 10 years’ jail with a minimum of seven.

Towle appealed on the ground that his sentence was manifestly excessive.

In May this year, defence counsel Robert Richter, QC, told three Court of Appeal judges sitting in Mildura: “Ten years for a lapse of ten seconds is too great.”

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke, QC, said Justice Cummins had made an “unimpeachable” finding.

A single Court of Appeal judge had previously refused Towle leave to appeal against his convictions.

The crash took the lives of Shane Hirst, 16, his 17-year-old sister Abby Hirst, Stevie-Lee Weight, 15, and Cassandra Manners, Cory Dowling and Josephine Calvi - all aged 16.

Taking into account time already served in custody, Towle will be eligible for parole in 2013.

After the judgment was handed down, Towle's lawyer Mr Richter said he would consider appealing to the High Court.