A young man whose “reckless and immature” driving left his front-seat passenger trapped with serious injuries has been sentenced to home detention after a high-speed crash in Hobart.
Aaron Pursell-Stephenson, 24, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, along with five related charges including evading police and driving while suspended.
The Supreme Court last month heard Pursell-Stephenson was driving a black Ford XR6 with four passengers on the night of August 30, 2024, when two officers in a stationary police car heard revving and saw smoke coming from the vehicle.
When they activated their emergency lights, Pursell-Stephenson sped off along Derwent Park Road, reaching more than 90km/h before police made the decision to stop following.
Despite officers turning off their lights and sirens, Pursell-Stephenson continued accelerating, overtaking a car near a school and reaching an estimated 100km/h on wet roads in poor visibility.
His vehicle struck railway lines, became airborne, spun several times and slammed into a streetlight pole, snapping it.
Front-seat passenger Jaiden Bennett was trapped in the wreckage.
He spent four days at the Royal Hobart Hospital being treated for fractured ribs, a mid-shaft femoral fracture requiring surgery and an open fracture to his finger.
In his victim impact statement, Bennett said the injuries had ended his hopes of working as a mechanic.
“I cannot stand up for … long periods of time without my leg hurting. I cannot walk on it for long either without it hurting,” he said.
“Before the accident I was pretty good friends with Aaron. Now he doesn’t talk to me.”
Pursell-Stephenson’s licence was suspended at the time of the crash and the vehicle was unregistered and uninsured.
A blood test returned negative for drugs and alcohol.
Body-worn camera footage captured him telling police he “went into panic” after seeing their lights, though he later denied seeing any police vehicle during a formal interview.
Justice Stephen Estcourt accepted the driving, while reckless, was of short duration and said Pursell-Stephenson had “good rehabilitative prospects”.
He sentenced him to 12 months home detention and imposed a three-month wholly suspended sentence for evading police.
Pursell-Stephenson was also disqualified from driving for six months.
