Apprentice tradie spared jail after deadly crash
An apprentice electrician has been spared jail time over a crash in Melbourne’s southeast that killed a 75-year-old woman.
Jasper Milon, 22, was driving a Toyota Hilux ute with a bull bar in Carrum on November 10, 2020, when he failed to give way at an intersection and crashed into a Mazda 121 Metro that was about halfway through.
The Mazda’s front driver’s side was crushed on impact, and Heather Tucker sustained critical injuries.
She was taken to The Alfred hospital where she died two days later on November 12.
Prosecutors in the Victorian County Court alleged Milon made a “calculated intentional risk” when he made the turn, but Judge Gabriele Cannon said it seemed to her there was little calculation about it.
Milon said he misjudged the distance between the ute and the Mazda, and Cannon said he lacked the appropriate judgment to assess how far the car was away.
The woman had significant pre-existing health conditions that made her vulnerable to cardiac arrest, which she ultimately went into as a result of her injuries from the crash.
Cannon accepted that, if it weren’t for the 75-year-old’s prior conditions, the collision would have been relatively minor.
There was no major internal damage to the Mazda and its airbags did not go off.
Drugs, alcohol and speed were also not factors in the collision, with Milon travelling at about 19km/h and the 75-year-old driving at about 55km/h.
Cannon sentenced Milon to a two-year community corrections order for dangerous driving causing death. The order will see him under strict supervision by authorities.
He will also have to complete 150 hours of community service work as part of the order, and faces jail time if he commits another offence while it hangs over him.
Milon’s licence has been cancelled and he is disqualified from driving for 18 months.
He was on a provisional licence at the time of the crash.
