A young carpenter who was under the influence of drugs when he rammed a Victoria Police officer and broke his leg has managed to avoid jail.
Benjamin Saurini, 22, has appeared in the County Court of Victoria where he was sentenced to a two-year community-based order after a jury found him guilty of negligently causing serious injury over the incident at Sunbury, west of Melbourne, in 2019.
Judge Peter Wischusen also ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
"You are in full-time work. You will find that [unpaid work order] extremely difficult to comply with but that is part of the punishment," the judge said.
He convicted Saurini and warned him that he would go to prison if he breached the terms of his community order.
"Do you understand that?" the judge asked.
"Yes, Your Honour," Saurini said.
In 2019, Saurini and two friends were parked on the gravel shoulder of Reservoir Road in Sunbury, where they were smoking cannabis.
The court heard the road was dark because there was no street lighting.
Senior Constable Rohan Brown, who was driving a police car, saw the group and came to a stop in front of Saurini's vehicle.
But as the police officer and his partner left their car, Saurini sped off, crashing into Senior Constable Brown.
The court heard that Saurini's vision was impaired by the lights of the police car and condensation.
Judge Wischusen said that the 22-year-old was also possibly affected by the drug ice.
"You maintained that because of the bright lights, you couldn't see the vehicle … and you did not know that anyone had been hurt in the collision," he said.
Police officer suffered serious injuries
The court heard that Senior Constable Brown suffered bruising, cuts and a broken leg after being rammed, with doctors telling his wife that people who suffered the same injuries usually died.
"I could've lost my life," Senior Constable Brown said during the pre-sentence hearing.
Judge Wischusen said the police officer was still managing the "profound" impacts of the crash.
"Given the ordeal that he has been through and he's likely to go through to the future, he did well to keep his emotions in check during the courageous reading of his victim impact statement," the judge said.
The court previously heard that when investigators caught up to Saurini, he expressed concern for Senior Constable Brown's welfare, and asked: "Will he be alright though?"
"I'm sorry for what I've done," he said, during the police interview.
"I didn't mean to hit him.
"I really regret what I did … I hope that he's doing alright."
Saurini spent two days in custody. The court heard it gave him such a "shock" that he had not had trouble abstaining from drugs since.
Saurini will not be able to get a licence for two years.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and ice, and unlicensed driving.
