Teen sentenced after horror New Year’s Eve rollover on K’gari

A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced over a serious New Year’s Eve rollover on K’gari that almost resulted in one of his passengers losing an arm.

QAS deployed two helicopters to the scene on December 31, 2023. Picture: Facebook

A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced over a serious rollover on K’gari that almost resulted in one of his passengers losing an arm.

The teen, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, faced the Queensland Children’s Court in Ipswich on Friday.

He was charged in March with one count of driving without due care and attention causing grievous bodily harm.

The court heard that the defendant was driving his HiLux utility with two passengers on a beach on K’gari on December 31, 2023.

Witnesses said the defendant was driving faster than other vehicles he was travelling with and deliberately performed manoeuvres.

The vehicle was approaching a sharp corner at around 6.10pm, but it failed to negotiate the bend and rolled a couple of times.

The two passengers — a 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy — were injured in the incident.

The boy said the defendant was trying to change the music on the stereo and was distracted from looking at the road.

He saw a bend on the embankment, but the utility went over and flipped over.

The girl said the defendant remained driving fast and did not slow down.

When she regained consciousness, she described the car as being in a “water area” and people around her had to dig a trench to stop the water coming close.

She was scared and saw the other boy was badly injured.

His arm was sliced open and cut up to the left shoulder and he had to undergo multiple surgeries to clean and repair the muscle in his left arm.

Witnesses stated the defendant started drinking beer about midday and had drunk about 10 beers that afternoon.

He was also drinking beer in the utility as he was driving.

The girl said he seemed to care more about his car when the trio got out of it.

Two patients have been transferred to Sunshine Coast University Hospital on December 31, 2023. Picture: 7News

Queensland Ambulance Services deployed two helicopters and flew the two injured passengers to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

Police arrived at around 7.50pm due to the terrain and geographical constraints of the area.

Police noted the defendant showed no regard for the injury sustained to his passengers as a result of his driving and was belligerent and swearing at them, using offensive language.

He was dishonest with the police, claiming he only consumed two beers that day.

More than two hours after the crash, he provided a specimen for breath analysis, revealing he had a 0.104% concentration of alcohol.

The limit for an open licence holder is 0.05%, but for the defendant who just obtained his provisional licence about four days prior, the limit was zero.

The court heard that the defendant was sentenced to three months of restorative justice for drink driving on February 19.

In a victim impact statement, the male passenger described that New Year’s Eve as the worst day of his life.

The boy remained as a first-year apprentice, but because his injured arm affected his muscle strength, causing reduced mobility and flexibility for practical work, he felt his classmates had moved ahead of him.

One of his passions was riding motocross, but he could not ride or race any more due to limited motion of his arm, losing companionship in that community.

The court heard that the defendant completed online driver safety sessions from Queensland Traffic Offenders Program.

The court also heard his mother and a family friend describing his act as out of character, with his employer saying he struggled with losing his pride and joy of the car that he worked hard to purchase.

Magistrate Amanda Bain said the only order that can reflect the seriousness was to impose a period of probation.

“When it comes to the day or the incident in which they were driving, nobody sets out with any type of malicious or criminal intent to hurt anybody or to put anybody in danger,” she said.

“The nature of driving before the court, which is arguably more serious, involves deliberate speed coupled with distractions and the deliberate swerving of the vehicle.”

Ms Bain noted the defendant had no subsequent offences and no traffic offences following this crash.

She sentenced the defendant to six months’ probation and disqualified his driver’s licence for six months.

The girl’s mother told The Courier-Mail that the sentence was a little bit of closure.

“This is the first time we’ve seen each other,” she said.

“He didn’t reach out, didn’t try and contact.”

The two said they were “not really” friends with the defendant, but were camping together at the time.

Originally published as Teen sentenced after horror New Year’s Eve rollover on K’gari