Wayne Hunt to be released on home detention after crash that killed Daemarius Purcell-Appo

A Darwin man who was high on cannabis when he accidentally killed an 11-year-old boy has learned his fate in a Top End court.

Wayne Peter Hunt will spend three months in jail before being released on home detention. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A Darwin man who was high on cannabis when he accidentally accelerated into a supermarket wall in 2022, killing an 11-year-old boy, will spend three months in jail before entering home detention.

Wayne Hunt, 55, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to one count of dangerous driving causing the death of Daemarius Purcell-Appo in Moulden five days before Christmas.

In setting a head sentence of three years on Friday, with nine months to be served at home, Justice Meredith Huntingford said Hunt had “made two fatal errors”.

“You turned the dial gear selector to drive and when you realised the vehicle was moving forward you depressed the accelerator instead of the brake,” she said.

“It was the combination of those two errors that led to this accident.”

Wayne Peter Hunt comes out of the Supreme Court trial after allegedly killing 11-year-old Daemarius Purcell-Appo with his ute in a Moulden car park. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

But Justice Huntingford said she did not accept the crash “was a case of momentary inattention”, with Hunt’s intoxication determined to be equal to a blood-alcohol reading of between 0.05 and 0.1.

“The effects produced by THC would have included reduced attention to the road and to his driving, increased side-to-side vehicle movement and increased driving errors,” she said.

“THC also slows reaction time, particularly in situations requiring complex decision making where there are several alternative courses of action such as occur immediately prior to some accidents.”

Justice Huntingford also noted Hunt had been driving an unmodified vehicle in breach of licence conditions imposed after he lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2008.

“Counsel focused in submissions upon the turning of the dial the wrong way and the application of force to the accelerator, both of which occurred in a moment,” she said.

“However, the whole of the circumstances must be taken into account.

Wayne Peter Hunt will face a Supreme Court trial after allegedly pinning and killing 11-year-old Daemarius Purcell-Appo in a Moulden car park Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The decision to drive when affected by cannabis, coupled with your decision to drive a vehicle which you knew was not suitably modified for you were both continuing circumstances.

“While the result of those matters occurred in a short period of time, the underlying causes of your dangerous driving existed from the moment you decided to drive.”

In suspending Hunt’s time behind bars after three months, Justice Huntingford said there was evidence of genuine remorse, including a doctor’s description of him suffering from “harrowing forms of remorse and guilt”.

“(One of your referees) also says that she’s spoken with you about the shame, guilt and heartache that you have suffered as a result of the realisation that you have taken a young boy’s life,” she said.

“It has to be acknowledged that no penalty which the court can impose would be commensurate with the loss that has been suffered.”