A teenage boy, 15, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison over a stolen-car crash in Cairns that killed one teenage passenger and left a 12-year-old girl a quadriplegic.
The boy pleaded guilty to multiple charges including manslaughter, grievous bodily harm, burglary and using a vehicle while intoxicated.
In February last year, 14-year-old Bradley Smith was killed when a stolen car, driven by the 15-year-old boy and carrying another four teenagers, crashed into a tree.
The prison time will be served concurrently and the teenager will be eligible for parole after four years and seven months.
The fatal night
While she handed down the sentence in the Supreme Court in Cairns today, Chief Justice Helen Bowskill said on the night of February 13, 2022, the 15-year-old and Bradley Smith stole a car from a house in Manunda.
She said that while under the influence of drugs, the 15-year-old drove the car around Cairns with Bradley Smith and he picked up four other children aged between 12 and 15.
In the early hours of February 14, 2022, police began searching for the car after a livestream of the car speeding, recorded by one of the passengers, was shared on Instagram.
After several police chases, the 15-year-old attempted to overtake another car in the suburb of Edge Hill.
He lost control of the vehicle and crossed several lanes before crashing into a tree near Saltwater Creek.
Bradley Smith died at the scene from his injuries.
Several of the passengers required surgery. One 12-year-old passenger sustained multiple severe spinal, chest and abdominal injuries.
She spent six months in hospital and has been living with quadriplegia and permanent neurological damage.
Chief Justice Bowskill said Bradley was "very much loved by his older sisters," and he had a difficult childhood, including losing his mother as a child before being placed into the care of Child Safety.
'Wild' behaviour
Chief Justice Bowskill described the 15-year-old's behaviour as "truly awful".
"You were wild and thought nothing about other people's property or the rules of society that keep us safe," she said.
"You were on drugs and out of control.
"The community is frightened by what you might do next."
When explaining her sentencing decision, Chief Justice Bowskill described the 15-year-old's background, including some of his "appalling" list of 144 prior convictions.
"He has had the benefit of every kind of order that can be made for a child offender … [but has] actively rejected any form of assistance," she said.
Chief Justice Bowskill explained the teenager was on bail at the time of the offence, having been released only two weeks earlier.
Impaired but responsible
Chief Justice Bowskill also mentioned statements made by the Crown Prosecutor that when the teenager's history was examined, it was "inevitable that he would either end up killing himself or someone else".
She says the teenager meets the criteria for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and has noted his mother's history of substance abuse neglect.
Chief Justice Bowskill said he had his first interaction with Child Safety at the age of 11.
Chief Justice Bowskill said while these reduced his moral blameworthiness he remained legally responsible.
"As a society, we cannot give up on a 15-year-old boy who is afflicted with severe impairments as a result of circumstances beyond his control," she said.
The teenager will be over 18 when he is eligible for parole and his convictions of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm and manslaughter will be recorded.
