UPDATE: The mother of a boy who was struck by a driver who failed to stop and help him says she is pleased he has faced up to the crime.
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Jayden Sizeland, 26, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court this week to numerous charges related to the October 2017 incident and other offending.
He was jailed for 18 months with a minimum of eight months, with much of the sentence stemming from his driving offences.
"I'm glad that he did admit to that and charges were laid in relation to it," Amanda Franks, the mother of the then-11-year-old victim, said.
EARLIER: A man who struck an 11-year-old cyclist in a car before driving away without stopping has been jailed for at least eight months.
Jayden Sizeland, 26, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Thursday to driving unlicensed, dangerous driving, failing to stop after a crash and failing to render assistance after a crash, in relation to the incident on the afternoon of October 31, 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to numerous other crimes, including possessing methamphetamine, using methamphetamine, public drunkenness, four counts of theft, burglary, attempting to steal a car, assaulting an emergency worker, acting in a way prejudicial or threatening to the order of a police lock-up and assault.
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On October 31, 2017, Sizeland approached the roundabout of Townsend, Somerville, Sternberg, Williamson and Miller streets.
He stopped but then suddenly accelerated into the roundabout, crossed lanes and forced an oncoming driver to brake hard to avoid a crash.
Sizeland then turned left onto Somerville Street, at the same time an 11-year-old boy was crossing the road on his bike.
The car swerved to the left but collided with the boy, knocking him from his bike onto the road.
Sizeland sped from the scene, but a witness followed him and the incident was captured by a dash-cam, with the footage later given to police.
Sizeland was unlicensed.
The following March Sizeland handed himself in at Melbourne West police station, where he admitted to the incident and was released pending summons.
He told police he was not "right in the head" on the day, and only saw the boy at the last second.
He said he failed to stop because he panicked and was driving unlicensed because he was taking a friend somewhere.
Early in the morning of October 18 last year, Sizeland was arrested for public drunkenness after banging on the back door of a Bannerman Street home for help because he thought someone was trying to kill him.
After being taken to Bendigo police station, it was discovered he had methamphetamine, or ice, which he admitted to possessing and using.
On February 27 this year, he stole 20 cans of premixed alcohol from a Williamson Street bottle shop.
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Then on March 8, Sizeland went to a Quarry Hill service station and asked for cigarettes, stealing the two packets while the staff member was processing the sale.
That afternoon, he went to a supermarket in Kennington and asked for cigarettes and a packet of lights.
When the staff member put the cigarettes on the counter, Sizeland grabbed them and yelled at the employee about the lighters, then reached over the counter and tried to grab the worker. He then left without paying.
The following morning, Sizeland was discovered leaving the garage of a Sternberg Street home, having stolen the car and house keys from the vehicle parked inside.
The keys were found and he was arrested.
But in the police cells, Sizeland became agitated, kicking the cell doors.
A sergeant tried to negotiate with him, but he was pepper-sprayed, before he picked up a chair and threw it at the sergeant, narrowly missing him.
Defence lawyer Tim Fitzgerald told the court his client had mental health issues, for which he used ice to self-medicate.
While noting Corrections Victoria's reluctance to take Sizeland back on a community corrections order, Mr Fitzgerald said this intensive support would help his client address his issues and stop him from reoffending.
He also suggested the sentence be deferred and Sizeland be released on strict bail with judicial monitoring, so he could access support services.
The court heard Sizeland had already been subject to seven supervised Corrections orders, all of which had failed, and had also served a term of imprisonment.
It also heard he experienced drug-induced psychosis, but this stabilised quickly with medication.
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But magistrate Patrick Southey described the matter as "an extraordinarily serious case".
In sentencing, Mr Southey noted Sizeland's guilty plea, his intellectual disability and his mental health issues, although it was suggested drugs exacerbated his mental illness.
But Mr Southey said Sizeland had a poor driving history, having spent time in jail and on a community corrections order for driving at a dangerous speed.
He regarded the driving offences to be so serious and the need to protect the community such an important factor, that he imposed a base sentence of 12 months' imprisonment and disqualified Sizeland from driving for two years.
"Whether or not you should ever drive is another matter," Mr Southey said.
Mr Southey also imprisoned Sizeland for another eight months on the assault and theft-related charges, with two months to be served concurrently.
The drugs charges carried a one-month concurrent jail term, which meant an effective sentence of 18 months, with a non-parole period of eight months.
Sizeland had spent 40 days in custody already.
He was also fined $200 plus costs.
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