A man whose flight from police led to the death of a toddler when he drove through a suburban backyard has had his "manifestly excessive" jail sentence reduced.
The judge who jailed Christopher Chandler for at least 13 years in 2017 said he knew there was a risk of serious injury to people when he deliberately drove a stolen Audi through a fence into the western Sydney backyard where four children were playing.
Then aged 22, Chandler had been granted Supreme Court bail less than six months before he killed the 18-month-old girl while driving unlicensed under the influence of methamphetamine on January 8, 2015.
He had stopped complying with his bail conditions about four weeks earlier.
After placing a tracker on the Audi, police descended in two tactical operations unit LandCruisers and a pair of highway patrol cars as it was stationary in a dead-end street.
"F***, I don't want to go back to jail," Chandler told his passenger, to which she replied: "I don't want to go back to jail either."
The Audi became airborne as it jumped the curb and went through the opaque Colorbond fence of the home in Constitution Hill.
Other children had to move out of the way as the Audi continued through Richill Park with the LandCruisers in pursuit.
"You didn't care what was behind that fence, you just wanted to get away from the police, is that right?" Chandler was asked at sentencing.
"I didn't know what was on the other side of that fence ... I just wanted to get out of there," Chandler said.
Chandler hit an unmarked police car before a pursuit, reaching speeds of up to 140km/h through red lights and on the wrong side of the road, was terminated when the Audi's rear tyre burst.
The Audi was later found in inner Sydney while Chandler fled to the Central Coast, where he was arrested a week later.
He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 19-year sentence.
In his dissent from the other two appeal judges in the Court of Criminal Appeal decision published Wednesday, Justice Robert Beech-Jones said allowing him to appeal, more than four years after sentencing, could undermine public confidence in the justice system.
The application to appeal relied overly on cases involving grossly negligent driving.
"The circumstances of the individual count of manslaughter in this case were significantly worse," Justice Beech-Jones wrote.
Those other convicted killers were trying to drive on the road, and lost control due to excessive speed or intoxication.
"(Chandler) drove the motor vehicle exactly where he wanted it to go and did so knowing of the appreciable risk to innocent bystanders," he wrote.
Chandler had a substantial criminal history, Justice Natalie Adams wrote.
"Significantly, he had previously been involved in dangerous police chases."
However, the sentence for manslaughter was more comparable to one for murder, she wrote.
It was the second-highest sentence for one instance of manslaughter and the highest ever imposed for vehicular manslaughter involving a single death, Justice Adams wrote.
Chandler's manslaughter sentence was higher than a man who shot a police officer executing a search warrant at his home, a man who let his seven-year-old starve to death, and a man who shook a 13-month-old by the neck, threatening their mother with a knife when she tried to protect her child.
Justice Peter Hamill said the appeal was "difficult and troubling", but agreed with Justice Adams that the sentence was manifestly excessive.
It has been lowered to 15 years and eight months, with a non-parole period of 10 years and six months.
Chandler will be eligible for parole in February 2028.
