Floyd Hennessy jailed after dragging man 80m under car in horror hit-run
An L-plater drove “erratically” and “punched the brakes” when he dragged a man under his car before leaving him to die on the side of the road.
A learner driver who dragged a man 80m under his car before leaving him to die has been sentenced to seven years behind bars, but his mate who encouraged him to “drive erratically” has avoided jail.
Floyd Hennessy, 22, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death, while his co-accused Brandon Cummings, 20, entered a guilty plea to reckless conduct endangering life.
While delivering her sentencing remarks in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Mandy Fox described how Cummings encouraged Hennessy to “shake the car”, “tap the brakes” and “fishtail” in a bid to remove their victim Peter Stojanovic, 43, from the roof of their car.
“You (Hennessy) deliberately shook the car from left to right and kept braking,” she said.
“... while the car was in motion you (Cummings) gave instructions to Hennessy on how to drive which created an obvious risk of death.”
Hennessy was behind the wheel of a Holden Commodore when he ran down and killed Mr Stojanovic at Dingley Village in December 2019.
Crown prosecutor Justin Lewis earlier told the court that Hennessy made a number of stark confessions to police, including that he was “punching his brakes on and off” in a desperate attempt to shake Mr Stojanovic off the roof of his car.
In December 2019, Hennessy and his mate Cummings travelled to Dingley Village in the early hours of the morning and started “sussing” out vehicles in the hope of stealing tools.
Mr Stojanovic spotted them on a home security camera and intervened.
He jumped onto the car in an effort to stop Hennessy from driving off, but he and Cummings sped off with Mr Stojanovic still attached to the roof.
Cummings then encouraged his mate to “go, go, go” and to “shake the car” to which Hennessy responded by doing so.
Justice Fox said Hennessy also reversed the car “rapidly” backwards for the entire length of the street while Mr Stojanovic clung to the roof.
Mr Stojanovic eventually fell and was dragged under the car for 60m, leaving a trail of blood and clothing.
Hennessy hid the car in the bushes and the pair caught a rideshare home after stopping by at a local service station where Cummings dumped his jacket in a bin because he had been captured on CCTV.
Passers-by called authorities after spotting Mr Stojanovic’s body on the side of the road in the early hours of the morning.
After arriving home Hennessy told his mum “something really bad has happened”. He later handed himself into police and confessed.
A harrowing victim impact statement was also read in court from Mr Stojanovic’s partner’s of seven years, Janine Weiss, who recalled the devastating moment police knocked on her door.
Ms Weiss also said she never got to say goodbye or hold her partner before he died and spent a lot of time alone with her grief during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
She said the sentence would never be enough.
Hennessy’s lawyer Tass Antos claimed Hennessy, who has a two-year-old son, feared Mr Stojanovic was armed.
Justice Fox dismissed those claims and said Hennessy never raised those concerns during his police interview.
She said there was little evidence Hennessy was remorseful other than his guilty plea but acknowledged Cummings had shown genuine remorse
Both men were initially accused of manslaughter and a spate of other charges, including failing to stop and assist, and driving in a dangerous manner causing death.
They pleaded not guilty to those charges in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court before pleading guilty to lesser charges.
The charge of reckless conduct endangering life carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars, while culpable driving causing death has a highest possible sentence of 20 years.
Hennessy has been sentenced to seven years jail, but with time served he will be eligible for parole in less than four years.
Cummings was ordered to serve a three-year community corrections order and must also complete 250 hours of unpaid work.