A killer teen driver who was high on MDMA when he crashed a stolen Jeep has cried as he was sentenced to more than seven years behind bars.
The boy, who cannot be named as he was 17 at the time of the fatal crash, put his head in his hands and wiped away tears as he learnt of his jail term on Tuesday afternoon.
He was behind the wheel of a stolen Jeep that crashed into William Taylor’s Toyota Corolla in Burwood in Melbourne’s east on the evening of July 2, 2024.
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The boy was weaving through traffic at high speeds in the lead up to the collision, ignoring calls from his five teenage passengers to slow down or stop.
Taylor, who was driving to soccer training, had entered the intersection at Highbury and Warrigal roads when the Jeep struck the passenger side of his Corolla.
The stolen vehicle was travelling at 129km/h in a 60km/h zone in the seconds before the collision.
Taylor suffered extensive injuries and died at the scene, while the boy and his passengers ran from the stolen car.
In the hour after the fatal crash, the boy used his phone to track the Victoria Police air wing.
He also looked up Crimestoppers, news websites and searched, “what is the punishment for a minor who commits involuntary manslaughter?”
The boy was arrested at his home the next day and lied about losing his phone before providing a no-comment interview to investigators.
He was bailed, brought back into custody after breaching his bail conditions, and then released again in the month after the crash.
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The boy, who is now 18, was still on bail when he entered a guilty plea in the Victorian County Court to charges including culpable driving causing death and conduct endangering life.
Judge Justin Lewis on Tuesday found the boy’s moral culpability was high, given the teen was unlicensed, speeding in a stolen car and using the drug MDMA on the day of the crash.
“You never should have been driving at all,” the judge said in sentencing.
Lewis accepted there was an element of panic when the boy fled the scene after the crash but also noted the teen was clearly trying to avoid arrest.
The judge said the boy’s guilty plea showed he had accepted responsibility and spared Taylor’s family having to sit through a trial.
He referenced five statements provided to the court from Taylor’s family and friends, noting how eloquently they spoke of their grief.
“The death of the loss expressed is profound,” Judge Lewis said.
He accepted the boy was still young and his prospects of rehabilitation were generally good, but said deterring other people in the community from committing similar offences was important.
The boy was jailed for seven years and seven months but he will be eligible for parole after four-and-a-half years.
Lewis recommended the Adult Parole Board direct the boy to serve all or part of his sentence in a youth justice centre, given his age.
The teen wiped away tears while his mother sobbed in the courtroom after the sentence was handed down.
Taylor’s family hugged as they left the County Court but chose not to make a statement to media.
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