Jake Kyle Holz pleaded guilty to dangerous driving

A burnout on a wet road caused a crash that left three people with “significant” injuries, a court has heard.

Jake Kyle Holz appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, drink driving, failing to remain at the scene of an incident and render assistance showing callous disregard and failing to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash.

A Fraser Coast man who lost control of his car while doing a burnout and crashed into a car carrying three people has learnt his fate in court.

Jake Kyle Holz, 26, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, two counts of drink driving and failing to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash.

The charges related to a two-car crash on Ferry St on December 22, 2023, which resulted in three injured people being taken to hospital.

Holz had been drinking and performed a burnout that resulted in him losing control of the car, causing the crash, the court heard.

Holz was also charged over a drink driving incident in Tinana in February 2025.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Balam Selvadurai said Holz had no criminal history and asked for a term of imprisonment of nine to 12 months, wholly suspended.

Defence lawyer Travis George said it was accepted the matter was a serious one, but argued a head sentence of nine to 12 months was too high, and submitted it should be closer to six months.

Mr George said his client was a young first-time offender who was gainfully employed in civil construction and had worked for the same company for four years.

He was supported by his mum, who was with him in court, Mr George said.

Jake Kyle Holz appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, drink driving, failing to remain at the scene of an incident and render assistance showing callous disregard and failing to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash.

Mr George said Holz’s father died a year prior to the crash and he had not taken it “very well”.

He said Holz’s mother felt some of his binge drinking at the time may have been related to the death of his father.

Holz had completed an “educational, confronting” traffic offenders' course that had helped with his rehabilitation, Mr George said.

Mr George said he would address the drink driving offence from February 15 this year.

“I imagine it does leave your honour questioning if this event occurred in December 2023, and he really had learned his lesson, why is he back with a drink driving offence in February 2025?”

Mr George said in relation to the charge, Holz had been at his home when his friend and his friend’s girlfriend had an argument.

Holz had turned his car around to shine the headlights into a vacant field to see if his friends were still there or if they were headed down the road, Mr George said, which was when the police came past.

“So, he wasn’t driving anywhere as such, he was literally parked out the front of his house,” Mr George said.

He said Holz had expressed genuine remorse in relation to his actions.

Magistrate John Milburn said he accepted there was evidence of genuine remorse.

He said Holz had been drinking at the Lamington Hotel before he got behind the wheel and did a burnout on a wet road, losing control and crashing into oncoming traffic.

That had caused significant injuries to three people, Mr Milburn said.

“It must have been an horrendous instance for the victims concerned and my heart goes out to them,” he said.

“But you have suffered as a result of what you have done and I accept that.”

Holz was sentenced to six months in prison, wholly suspended for an operational period of 18 months.

For the dangerous driving charge, he was disqualified from holding a licence for six months and disqualified for three months for the first drink driving charge.

For the second drink driving charge he was fined $500 and disqualified from holding a licence for six months.

Convictions were recorded on all matters except for the most recent drink driving charge.

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Originally published as Jake Kyle Holz pleaded guilty to dangerous driving