A serial traffic offender with an “appalling” record has been jailed for nine years over a crash that killed a Malaysian tourist and left another man with life-changing injuries.
Grant Andrew Crawford, 55, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Tuesday.
He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, grievous bodily harm, assault and unlawfully injuring property, along with a string of summary charges.
Justice Tamara Jago said Crawford had a “dreadful” driving history, including 25 previous convictions for driving while disqualified and periods of disqualification totalling more than 20 years.
“This equates to you having been disqualified for over 50% of the time in which you have been eligible to hold a driver’s licence”, she said in her passing comments.
The crash happened on December 15, 2023, when Crawford was driving a stolen and unregistered Holden station wagon that was missing its rear windscreen and one rear window.
He was disqualified from driving at the time and had been out of custody for less than six months after serving a sentence that included driving offences.
Crawford drove around 38.5 kilometres that morning, starting on Oonah Road near Highclere and speeding through a closed roadworks site.
When a plant operator tried to block his path, Crawford reversed and rammed the vehicle twice, nearly pushing it towards a steep embankment.
He then smashed through closed gates and continued towards Yolla.
Crawford turned onto the Murchison Highway and overtook a laden log truck across double white lines at 120km/h while approaching a blind corner.
A short time later, his car struck a trailer being towed by a lawn-mowing operator.
The collision set off a chain of events that struck a group of 10 Malaysian motorcyclists touring the state.
Retnakumar Kuppusami was thrown from his motorcycle and died at the scene from severe injuries.
Suresh Rajakumar was also struck and suffered multiple fractures, spending weeks in hospital and undergoing several operations.
Crawford, who suffered only a minor cut to his face, fled without checking on anyone or calling for help.
“You showed no care for anyone but yourself. You were interested only in fleeing the scene to avoid detection,” Jago said.
“To run off without offering any assistance, is morally reprehensible and suggests reprobate characteristics within you.”
Jago said the crash was the result of a decision to drive dangerously, rather than a lapse in concentration.
“This was not momentary inattention but a prolonged course of dangerous driving,” she said.
She said an earlier prison term had done nothing to change Crawford’s behaviour.
“That sentence clearly had little to no impact upon you as within a very short time, you were driving a stolen motor vehicle that was in a poor condition, in a blatantly dangerous manner,” she said.
She described him as someone who had “for many years shown contempt for the laws of this state and a disregard for the safety and welfare of other road users”.
She said a tragic outcome had been “almost inevitable”.
Jago found Crawford’s guilty pleas did not reflect genuine remorse, saying they were “little more than a reluctant acceptance of the inevitable”.
Crawford’s nine-year sentence was backdated to December 18, 2023.
He will not be eligible for parole until he has served six years and will be banned from driving for six years after his release.
