A man has been jailed for 10 months after a drunken attack on a father in front of his children following a driving dispute.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Saxon Hallows, 30, was jailed after pleading guilty in the Bendigo Magistrate Court to multiple charges including recklessly causing injury which left his victim with a split lip.
Hallows attacked the man in late June of this year after erratically driving while he had a registered blood alcohol level of 0.112.
MORE NEWS:
The attack included throwing a bottle of alcohol at the victim's car, breaking his wing mirror and hitting the man multiple times in the head.
The court heard the man had at least eight stubbies of Jacks and cola before getting behind the wheel the night of the attack and that alcohol had been a "long-standing" problem for Hallows.
The father assaulted by Hallows said in a victim impact statement that he had felt withdrawn since the attack, and it had affected his marriage and children.
The statement mentioned the "biggest impact" was the fact it happened in front of his children and now there are "chills down" his spine whenever he is out on the road and someone overtakes him.
It was mentioned in the impact statement that both of the victim's children now struggle to sleep at night or move around the family home without a parent present.
The defence lawyer for Hallows told the court as soon as he realised there were children present the night of the attack, he stopped and drove away.
The lawyer said Hallows was regretful for his actions and did not "seek to minimise" the seriousness of the assault.
Hallows has struggled with addiction to methamphetamine in the past and had served 106 days in pre sentence detention as of October 12.
READ NOW:
The magistrate overseeing the matter said it was "remarkable itself" that there was no serious crash on the night given how intoxicated Hallows was.
The magistrate said the trauma for the family and particularly the children who witnessed the attack would be "ongoing and longstanding".
Hallows was sentenced to six months in jail for one charge of recklessly causing injury, three months for one charge of driving in a manner which is dangerous, another three months for a second charge of driving in a manner which is dangerous and one month for criminal damage.
The two charges of driving dangerously are to run concurrently, totalling 10 months of jail time.
Hallows was also fined $400 and disqualified from driving for 11 months for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
