An Altona North truck driver has lost a bid to reduce his minimum two-year jail term for a head-on collision that left an 18-year-old woman with catastrophic injuries.
John Gurovski pleaded guilty to negligently causing serious injury, recording false or misleading work records, using a mobile phone while driving and failing to record information immediately after starting work.
Last March, the 45-year-old was sentenced to three years’ jail with a two-year minimum and fined $17,000.
He appealed the sentence in the Supreme Court, arguing it was manifestly excessive and he should have received a community correction order.
In February, 2016, Gurovski was driving a Freightliner prime mover B-double on the Calder Highway towards Mildura when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided with the victim’s sedan.
The woman suffered multiple fractures, degloving of an arm and thigh, brain damage, a partial finger amputation and her right arm was almost totally amputated. She was placed in a coma for 17 days.
In her victim impact statement, the victim said every day was a struggle due to pain and physical limitations and she could not work or engage in recreation. She said she felt “mentally drained, stressed, lonely and worthless”.
On the day of the collision, Gurovski had started work at 5.26am, driving from Altona North to Noble Park North to load his truck.
The court heard he had driven after only five and a half hours of sleep and had driven excessive hours with insufficient rest breaks and sleep for 20 days.
From 8.57am until the time of the crash at 2.45pm, his longest break was seven minutes.
In their ruling, Justices Simon Whelan and Emilios Kyrou stated the sentencing judge was right to place importance on general deterrence.
“The danger posed by drivers of heavy vehicles who are unable to properly control their vehicle due to limited sleep, inadequate rest breaks or other avoidable causes is grave,” they said.
“The consequences for road users can be so catastrophic that a clear message must be conveyed that a conviction for the offence of negligently causing serious injury by driving will result in condign punishment.”
