A man who led police on a high-speed chase to the Royal Hobart Hospital while high on methamphetamine was just trying to get his pregnant partner there, the Supreme Court has heard.
Trent Leonard, 26, was initially clocked driving at 160km/h on the Midland Highway at Mangalore just after 4am on November 22, 2022, when he was supposed to be home in Warrane while out on bail.
The chase began on the highway and continued onto Tea Tree Road and the East Derwent Highway, where police successfully spiked his vehicle in Lindisfarne.
Even with deflated tyres, Leonard managed to drive over the Tasman Bridge to the hospital, where he left his partner in the car and ran away on foot down Argyle Street. He was later found hiding in a bush.
The court heard Leonard was travelling up to 170km/h at times, drove on the wrong side of the road, took an exit in excess of 110km/h, overtook a vehicle on a blind corner at 80-90km/h across double continuous lines, sped past two police officers at 120km/h and ran a red light.
Acting Supreme Court Justice David Porter said Leonard’s pregnant partner had called police around halfway through the ordeal and told the operator she was concerned about the baby’s wellbeing.
“When told to pull over, [Leonard] said he would not because he … was worried that if he stopped and waited, she would lose the baby,” Porter said.
“When interviewed … he explained that the last time [his partner] was pregnant it resulted in a stillbirth and he said he was not losing this baby.”
“He said he knew that if he pulled over he was going to gaol, as he was in breach of a bail curfew.”
Justice Porter noted Leonard has an “extensive record of prior offending”, including drug, assault, breach of bail and other driving incidents.
“Very plainly, this course of dangerous driving makes it a serious matter. There were obvious risks to the lives of other road users, his passenger and other members of the public. Police officers were also put at risk,” he said.
“In very broad terms, it might not be seen as unreasonable for a person, living in a relatively isolated place and deeply concerned about the health of a family member to set off on a journey to try to get that person assistance as quickly as possible.”
“However, it might be expected that an ambulance would be called and the time for help to arrive reduced by driving to meet it.”
“In this case however, the defendant should not have been driving at all because he was disqualified, but this would not be the first case in which a person has driven whilst disqualified in a perceived emergency.”
“The real difficulty in this seems to me to arise when the first police officer was encountered at Mangalore. A more rational person, even one driving unlawfully, might have stopped and enlisted that officer’s assistance irrespective of the consequences for themselves.”
“But, making irrational decisions and in very foolishly determined state, the defendant drove a very considerable distance at high speed in a dangerous and very risky manner. Fortunately there were no collisions and no-one was injured.”
“I would observe that there is a very stark contradiction in trying to get [his partner] to hospital as quickly as possible for the sake of her and the baby, while at the same time exposing her to a considerable degree of risk as a passenger.”
Leonard was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison and will become eligible for parole after one year and four and a half months from November 3, 2023.
He will be disqualified from driving for two years upon his release.
The baby was born in January 2023.
