The mother of a young Glen Eira College student shoved from a moving car during a bungled robbery says her heart aches every time he leaves the house.
The boy, now 15, is still suffering injuries from the attack allegedly committed by three teens as he walked home from school in Glen Huntly on September 4.
The victim was a student at Glen Eira College.Credit: The Age
A 15-year-old girl who acted as the driver in the crime spree pleaded guilty to 15 charges in a Children’s Court on Wednesday, including recklessly causing serious injury, robbery and failing to render assistance.
A victim impact statement from the boy’s mother outlined her shock at sending her son to school and then later seeing him being kept alive by machines in hospital during the six days he was in an induced coma.
“Seeing my son in intensive care, in a coma, and hooked up to all the machines, not knowing if he was going to live or die was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced in my life,” she said.
“Seeing [his] body, lifeless, being carried and moved by the doctors and nurses, to have his MRI scan was terrible to watch and see.”
The mother said in her statement she felt “powerless and helpless to fix my son”.
“Before the attack ... he was a happy, active boy, and what I saw in the hospital was a lifeless body being kept alive by machines, and I was constantly worried and scared that my boy would never wake up.”
She said her son used to achieve high grades in school, but since the attack, his grades had slipped.
“He’s a very intelligent boy who got high grades, and so when he saw that he just passed the subjects due to being in hospital, and unable to do the schoolwork, [it] got him very upset.
“He’s still having many medical issues that needed attention and this is ongoing. [His] vision is affected and no one can tell me how bad it will remain … [he] continues to wear an eye patch over one eye every day to strengthen his eyes.”
‘To this day, I’m still in shock about what happened to me, and I can’t believe what those young people do to them without giving any thought to the consequences.’
The victim’s mother
She told the court that the attack had left her anxious about her son’s independence because she continually feared something would happen to him.
“Every time [he] leaves the house or is away from me, I feel the heart pain [sic], and I’m so scared that something will happen, and I can never rest or relax, and my health has been affected.
“To this day, I’m still in shock about what happened to me, and I can’t believe what those young people do to them without giving any thought to the consequences.”
The magistrate said the mother’s comments were accurate and very heartfelt.
“No surprise, there are no surprises whatsoever,” he said.
“To me, there’s nothing unusual about this. It’s just terrible, nightmarish offending ... and the consequences of it being completely tragic.”
The court heard the trio accused of attacking the boy had been driving around the area in a stolen Volkswagen Tiguan, robbing other teenagers leaving school, stealing phones and clothing.
The car drove up to the victim and his friend on Lloyds Avenue with two teen boys demanding his phone. When he refused, the boys slapped and kicked the victim and one of the boys “used a box cutter to inflict injuries”.
The court heard one of the boys then grabbed the victim by his jacket and dragged him into the Volkswagen. The girl sped off with him hanging out of the passenger door, his feet dangling over the road, as they reached speeds up to 70km/h.
Bystanders said the driver didn’t appear to know how to drive the car, and it sped and verged across lanes, almost hitting another vehicle, with the windscreen wipers switched on.
The car drove erratically for about 150 metres on Neerim Road before the victim was ejected. The three teens didn’t stop to render assistance.
Witnesses saw him having a seizure, and vomiting blood before he passed out near the gutter, bleeding from his head.
Prosecutors on Wednesday did not seek that the girl be placed in youth detention, but instead be subject to a behavioural order.
Her lawyer submitted to the court that her offending occurred within the context of the emergence of “mental health issues”.
The girl will be sentenced in August.
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