31 March 2008

Mildura crash driver jailed for 10 years

A Victorian driver has been jailed for 10 years over the road deaths of six teenage pedestrians near Mildura.

Thomas Towle, 35, formerly of Red Cliffs, veered into a group of teenagers, killing six and seriously injuring four of them, as they left a 16th birthday party at Cardross near Mildura on February 18, 2006.

Killed in the crash were Shane Hirst, 16, his 17-year-old sister Abby Hirst, Stevie-Lee Weight, 15, and Cassandra Manners, Cory Dowling and Josephine Calvi - all aged 16.

A Supreme Court jury earlier this month found Towle guilty of six counts of dangerous driving causing death, and four of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

Towle was found not guilty on six counts of the more serious charge of culpable driving.

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Philip Cummins jailed Towle to a minimum term of seven years before he is eligible for parole.

During the trial the jury was told Towle was driving with his four-year-old son on his lap and speeding on a country road when he crashed into the group.

The prosecution argued his criminal negligence caused him to lose control of his car and crash into the teenagers.

The defence team said Towle had tried to avoid one group walking along the side of the road and ended up hitting another.

The prosecution said Towle's sentence must recognise the large number of victims.

However, the defence argued Towle should serve any penalties concurrently, meaning he should serve a maximum five-year jail term.

Towle's lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, said outside court that his client has instructed him to appeal against the sentence.

Towle's basic sentence was three and half years for each death, two years each for two of the injuries and one year each for the other two injuries.

While Justice Cummins said part of the sentence would be served concurrently, reducing it to 10 years, he said it would be inappropriate for the entire term to be concurrent.

A concurrent sentence, he said, would "reduce human victims to mere numbers".

"These victims were not and are not statistics.

"They were and are human beings, every one entitled to the full protection of the law."

Towle was stony-faced as he was led away following the sentencing.

Family members called out "I love you" as he was led away, while many friends of the teenage victims shed tears.

Family and friends of the six teenagers unable to come to Melbourne on Monday watched the sentencing on video screens in Mildura Court.

Justice Cummins said the sentence had to reflect the fact that Towle knew children were likely to be in the area of Myall St, where he was driving at high speed.

"A most serious element of your criminal driving was not physical, but psychological," he told the court.

"You knew that there were, or were likely to be, numerous children in the area.

"This is not a case of unexpected circumstances. This is not a case of a momentary lapse of attention.

"This is a case of multi-faceted lack of attention at high speed at night and with knowledge of risk. And with terrible consequences.

"The three central facts ... are that there was one limited course of driving, your knowledge of the presence or likelihood of numerous persons at the scene and that there were six deaths and four serious sets of injuries."

Speaking on behalf of the families of the victims, Mildura Senior College chaplain Colin Cole said they did not expect a tougher sentence.

"In a nutshell, it was the best we could expect," Mr Cole said outside court.

Carmel Calvi, mother of Josephine Calvi, said she was satisfied with the sentence.

"We're as happy as we can be," she said.

When asked what she would say to Towle, she replied: "I've got nothing to say to him."

Towle's father, Graham, said he could not comment on the sentence.

He said he was aware the sentence would be subject to an appeal.

"I've left it in God's hands," he told AAP.

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