Teen driver sentenced to probation order after pleading guilty to four month crime spree

A 14-year-old driver who deliberately ran into cyclists has been freed from custody while a court heard one of the victims’ injuries are so bad he is still unable to walk.

A cyclist who suffered a bleed on the brain when he was deliberately hit by youths in a stolen car is still unable to walk as a teen was freed over the horror crash.

A boy, 14, caught on video screaming, “hit him, hit him, hit him!” before a stolen car smashed into cyclist Kevin Gallon was sentenced to a probation order on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a four month crime spree.

The boy, who is in state care, was on bail when he was in the stolen car that crashed into cyclists Mr Gallon and Glen Gibson, while a children’s court heard another cyclist Gary Hanson was also nearly hit twice on Beach Rd, on January 23.

Mr Gallon was the worst injured, suffering a broken ankle, fractured spine and brain bleed, and told the court he’d “been on a rollercoaster ride of emotion since the accident”.

The stolen car crashed into cyclists on Beach Rd.

“I don’t know if I will be able to ride a bike again … I’m still not able to walk properly at this stage,” he said in a letter handed to the court.

The horror hit-run was filmed and posted to social media, where police heard the boy, 14, in the passenger seat urging the driver to hit Mr Gallon.

Immediately after striking the cyclist, the boy was heard saying, “Oh f***, oh shit, my bad”, when the driver replied, “Tell them to pull over”, in reference to another stolen car filled with their co-accused.

Upon his arrest, the 14-year-old “smirked” during his police interview when questioned in detail about the circumstances of the crash.

The horror hit-run was filmed and posted to social media.

The court heard he made multiple comments that “he was looking forward to seeing his mates in Parkville”.

His older brother was also in the car that hit the cyclists.

The boy pleaded guilty to reckless conduct endangering life and a series of dishonesty offences, earning a probation order where he must be of good behaviour and abide by certain conditions for nine months.

Between November and March, he admitted to driving or being a passenger in five stolen cars, and of thefts of tech and bank cards from vehicles.

The boy’s mobile phone was found in a stolen Mitsubishi found dumped in Wonthaggi in November after it rolled upon losing traction on the road and clipped a tree.

In the new year, he was seen by his own grandmother riding in a stolen Audi.

After he was bailed over the January Beach Rd hit-runs he was in a stolen car in Wonthaggi that hit a victim’s car on February 28, and was later seen by a local police sergeant driving the same car.

In March, while also on bail, he was a passenger in another stolen car that reached speeds up to 150km and led a police chase.

The boy’s persistent offending was considered so serious by a children’s court magistrate, a Supreme Court judge, and a full panel of Court of Appeal judges that he was repeatedly denied bail earlier this year.

Back in a children’s court on Wednesday for a plea hearing, a magistrate noted he’d spent 84 days in custody on remand.

“In my view there is no utility in keeping this young person remanded any further,” His Honour said.

“I’m of the view that the matter is best finalised by a period of supervision.”

The magistrate turned to the boy in the dock and told him he’d be going back to residential care, noting that what happened on Beach Rd was “particularly difficult for me to reconcile”.

“And your words (“hit him”) were particularly difficult for me to reconcile as well, but you’re a young man and you need to be given the opportunity to reflect on that and move on from that.”

The boy was released from custody on Wednesday on a nine month probationary order, with requirements that he engage in services.

Probation orders are the least intensive supervision order available to youth offenders.