A critical investigation has been prompted following the death of a man as a result of a police pursuit in Sydney’s southwest on Christmas eve.
It is reported that at about 11:30pm, a police pursuit commenced after highway patrol officers had attempted to stop a man driving a lancer who allegedly refused to stop when directed to.
The male passenger was flung from the vehicle and died at the scene after the lancer motor vehicle collided into a power pole in Leppington.
Meanwhile, the other male driver of the vehicle was hospitalised and while under police guard has since been undergoing treatment for injuries.
An independent review will take place following an investigation from a critical incident team to investigate the circumstances around the collision. The information will then be forwarded to the coroner.
If you or anyone you know may have witnessed the incident, police are urging you to assist in the investigation by contacting police.
Police pursuit offences are otherwise known as Skye’s law in NSW. it carries up to three years in jail.
For second or subsequent offenders, it carries up to 5-years in jail, prescribed by section 51B of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
Further penalties upon being convicted for this offence, include a driver licence disqualification period of an automatic three years or, at the court’s discretion, minimum 1 year. For second of subsequent offender, the automatic disqualification is five years, or discretionary two years.
In addition to the above penalties, the offence also carries with it a criminal record, otherwise known as a conviction. A conviction can only be avoided if the charge is dismissed on a ‘not guilty’ verdict after a hearing, or if a section 10 non-conviction penalty is imposed after pleading guilty to it.
Click here for the penalties and defence for police pursuit charges in NSW.
History of Skye’s Law
When a 19 month old child named Skye Sassine was killed from a high-speed police pursuit in 2009 when 2 alleged robbers had collided into the vehicle that Skye was in, the government introduced Skye’s law.
As a result, tougher penalties were introduced and the courts have since taken this offence very seriously warranting greater weight on general deterrence when imposing a penalty on sentence to offenders.
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