Robert Nathan Allen: Joy ride through Devonport could have caused ‘catastrophic consequences’

A man’s hours-long joy ride where he chased down an ambulance, yelled abuse at other drivers, had several near misses, and had his hand pressed on the horn continuously has resulted in jail time.

An ambulance drives on Beach Road, Goolwa. Saturday, November 18, 2023. (The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette)

A man, who was chasing an ambulance responding to a triple-0 call while believed to have been drunk, has been sentenced to jail.

On November 29, 2022, Robert Nathan Allen was driving in Devonport.

At the time, he was out on bail under the condition that he was banned from driving.

During sentencing, Justice Tamara Jago said Allen had been driving dangerously and was leaning out of his car window, yelling at other drivers.

His driving had resulted in several near misses with other motorists.

Allen then spotted an ambulance with its sirens on and started following it, speeding and running red lights to keep up with the vehicle.

The Burnie Supreme and Magisterial Courts.

“The ambulance personnel, believing that you were endeavouring to gain their attention, pulled over,” Justice Jago said.

“You drove past the ambulance and continued driving on Formby Road before doing a U-turn on Lyons Ave and heading back in a northerly direction along Formby Road.”

The ambulance continued on its journey, with Allen still following the vehicle.

The paramedics in the ambulance called the police before Allen stopped following them as they turned onto Sheffield Road.

Allen then drove back into Devonport and filled up his car at a petrol station before continuing his journey, all while driving dangerously and erratically.

“At approximately 8.45pm, you were seen driving on Forbes Street in Devonport,” Justice Jago said.

“You were holding your hand on the horn, sounding it continuously. You were driving along Forbes Street at approximately 20 km/h.

“You then proceeded to drive through a number of residential streets.

“At one point you stopped your vehicle completely at an intersection before beginning to travel backwards towards another vehicle before then moving forward again.”

Allen was then arrested in a car park.

While he refused to be breathalysed, Justice Jago said witnesses described Allen as “appearing intoxicated”.

“Your driving very easily could have resulted in catastrophic consequences,” she said.

“Every road user has the right to expect that other road users will act responsibly, and clearly, on this day, you did not.”

Supreme Court Justice Tamara Jago outside Burnie court.

At the time Allen was arrested, Justice Jago said the then 32-year-old had travelled to Tasmania from Victoria for a driving holiday with his dog following the death of his grandfather.

“His passing had caused you significant grief, and you were not coping well. He had been a very important person in your life,” she said.

“You had been raised in a complicated and dysfunctional family and had spent much of your childhood living with your grandfather.”

Allen had significant mental health issues and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Before committing his crimes, Justice Jago said he had stopped taking his mental health medication and began consuming large amounts of alcohol.

“Your life had destabilised considerably, and there was a marked deterioration in your mental health,” she said.

Justice Jago said that before coming to Tasmania, Allen had been receiving hormone treatment for male-to-female transition and had been gender fluid in the past, frequently changing name and pronoun preferences.

“It seems likely that the hormone treatment, combined with your cessation of mental health medication, impacted upon your mental health at the time of these crimes.”

Justice Jago said Allen had ceased hormone treatment and currently identified as male.

He was sentenced to 10 months jail, backdated to February 15, 2023.

Allen was also disqualified from driving for two years after his release from custody.