A KEILOR East man successfully appealed his jail term for smashing into another car in Kimbolton at up to 176 km/h while high on ice.
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The crash sent his ute fishtailing for more than 220 metres on Bendigo-Redesdale Road before rolling into a nearby paddock for 60 metres in the morning of January 24, 2015.
Michael Nott, 36, will no longer serve his three month jail term after his appeal was upheld in the Bendigo County Court on Wednesday.
The court heard Nott was first noticed driving erratically on the Northern Highway at Elmore half an hour before the crash.
He was then spotted “flying through” the Goornong-Axedale Road intersection in the middle of Axedale, causing other vehicles to stop to avoid a collision.
Between 8.15am and 8.25am, other motorists reported Nott was passing them at high speed, traveling on the wrong side of the road for up to 500 metres. He almost lost control several times, the court heard.
He then crept onto the wrong side of Bendigo-Redesdale Road at a bend near Mangans Lane and collided with an oncoming Mazda sedan, with two occupants.
Nott’s ute skidded before leaving the road and crashing through a fence, rolling into a paddock. Nott suffered a broken leg, while the other motorists were uninjured.
A glass pipe, straws and four tablets with a clover design were found in the car. A crash reconstruction showed Nott was travelling between 142 and 176 km/h when he crashed.
In an interview with police two months later, Nott did not comment on the crash but showed signs of remorse. He was charged with reckless conduct endangering serious injury and dangerous driving.
Nott was sentenced to three months jail in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court in October, with a 12 month community corrections order.
Defence counsel Andrew Halse admitted it was “extremely poor driving”, but told the court Nott had addressed his ice use in the 16 months since the crash.
He said while the community corrections order would be beneficial, a jail term would be “detrimental”.
Mr Halse said the drug taking was linked to a family breakdown and he had not used ice since, as shown in reports tendered to court with character references.
Crown prosecutor David Cordy said it was “appalling driving”.
“If it had of resulted in a fatality, he would have instead been charged with culpable driving and the sentence would be in the region of 10 years,” he said.
“The community needs to be protected from people who take this drug and drive.”
Judge Paul Lacava said he initially thought the three months jail term was inadequate, but changed his mind when considering Nott’s lack of prior convictions and his work in stopping his ice use.
“Once this offence occurred, he ceased taking drugs. That was supported by evidence of drug screening between August 3, 2015 and May 10, 2016,” he said.
Nott had his three month jail sentence removed and will instead complete a 12 month community corrections order with a conviction. He was also fined $1000 for drug possession and drug driving.