Man 'driving From The Devil' Avoids Jail For Fatal Crash

The Age

Thursday May 18, 2006

DANIELLA MILETIC, COUNTY COURT REPORTER

A MENTALLY ill man who crashed into a car after a police pursuit in Geelong, killing a father of two, has avoided jail.

The County Court heard that Adam Thomas Carter Drake was paranoid and spoke of being chased by the devil when police activated their lights for a random traffic inspection on December 23, 2004.

Police chased Drake, driving a Ford Telstar, until he veered across the Barwon Heads Road and accelerated, colliding head-on with a Volkswagen Kombi.

The van's driver, 39-year-old Darren Gussey, died at the scene. He had been on his way to buy Christmas presents for his two young daughters.

In what Judge Michael Bourke described as an "extremely difficult" exercise, he yesterday sentenced Drake, 24, to three years' jail wholly suspended.

He also disqualified Drake from holding a licence for 10 years and ordered that he need permission from the police commissioner to drive after that time.

Drake had pleaded guilty to one charge of culpable driving.

In sentencing, Judge Bourke said he took into account Drake's paranoid schizophrenia, from which he had suffered since 2001. He said that at the time of offending the condition was affecting Drake, who spoke of the devil taking over and of someone being after him.

Judge Bourke said Drake, a concreter, would be under the strict supervision of his parents and mental health services. The offence of culpable driving was grave and called for an immediate jail term in all but exceptional cases, he said.

In this case, prosecutors had said a suspended jail term was in the sentencing range.

"The tragic loss of life on the roads is a grave and almost constant problem for our community," the judge said.

He said Drake had no alcohol in his system at the time, but small traces of cannabis - indicating use weeks earlier - were found.

Outside court, Mr Gussey's wife, Samantha Broughton, said she had hoped Drake would go to jail, but she was comforted by the fact that he would be off the road for at least 10 years.

She said an upcoming inquest on her husband might answer more questions she had about why Drake was driving in the first place. No sentence could take away the pain she and her two daughters, Sasha, 7, and Stella, 4, felt, she said.

Ms Broughton's father, Peter Broughton, said he felt Drake's suspended jail term had delivered both compassion and justice.

Mr Gussey's mother, Anne Rothville, of Queensland, said she was devastated. "He can walk free again . . . He's still walking around and my son's dead," she said.

"I have been to hell and back. Darren was minding his own business and he didn't deserve to die so young."