A woman has been jailed after her boyfriend was left with a permanent brain injury when he fell from her car while clinging to the roof rack.
Georgia Jane Bowker Dunn, 49, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania after a jury found her guilty of negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.
The court heard Bowker Dunn drove off from Warwick Street in Hobart in January 2022 while her then-partner was holding onto the roof of her vehicle following an argument.
He fell when she turned into Church Street, suffering multiple skull fractures and a traumatic brain injury.
Chief Justice Chris Shanahan said the victim spent weeks in an induced coma and required brain surgery to survive.
The jury heard that without urgent medical intervention, the man would have died.
“For several weeks it was not known whether he would live or die given the seriousness of the injuries that he suffered,” Chief Justice Shanahan said.
The victim spent six months in rehabilitation and continues to struggle with mobility, hearing and cognitive processing. He gave evidence from a wheelchair.
At the time of the incident, Bowker Dunn’s blood alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit.
After the victim fell, she did not stop. Instead, she struck a stone wall, continued driving on the wrong side of the road with a damaged vehicle and only stopped when the car could no longer function.
Chief Justice Shanahan was critical of Bowker Dunn’s attitude, noting she had described herself as a victim of the incident in a pre-sentence report.
“I found your willingness to identify yourself as a victim of your own offending entirely inappropriate and lacking in any appreciation of who was responsible for your offending,” he said.
“You are, according to the jury’s verdict, not the victim. You are the offender.”
Bowker Dunn argued her diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder caused a flight response, but the jury rejected the defence.
She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, with 12 months suspended.
She will serve six months immediately, followed by a two-year driving ban.
Upon release, she must undergo alcohol treatment and psychological assessment and is prohibited from consuming alcohol during the supervision period.
