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Permalink Reply by Duncan on July 23, 2008 at 5:04pm

through the magic of the interwebs..

Be early, he's up first

Interesting that there's no other charges. Does this mean that if he'd actually stopped and exchanged details (with the bodies lying on the road and the other angry riders), then it'd all be sweet and he'd be facing NO charges whatsoever?

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Permalink Reply by Lzzter on July 23, 2008 at 7:10pm

Thanks, Duncan, for posting the Waverley Court list. So it's 9:30 am Tuesday morning.

I think that if the police were going to charge him for the crash, they would have done it already. I believe he'll get no penalty for the crash on Southern Cross Drive. The police must have deemed him innocent.

Maybe the NRCA should put out a press release for the media.

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Permalink Reply by KimR on July 23, 2008 at 10:36pm

There was some suggestion (not sure how accurate) that he had been out at a club the whole night before and was returning home that morning. If it looked like he was trying to evade a breath or drugs test, as well as not bothering to turn up for the original hearing, his credibility in the eyes of the magistrate should be low?

I guess best hope is that he has previous offences so at least gets a loss of licence.

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Permalink Reply by Duncan on July 24, 2008 at 11:43am

I'm sort of hoping that they just stuck him with the 'leaving the scene' charge because it was a no brainer.. once they have him in court they can get some more backgruond and maybe proceed with further charges.. or am I dreaming?

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Permalink Reply by Drastic on July 24, 2008 at 2:19pm

Under Brendan's law leaving the scene of an accident is treated in the same way as dangerous driving and can result in a prison sentence. It's obviously an easy charge to lay and will give the prosecution plenty of scope to show malicious intent. Hopefully they'll make an example of him.

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Permalink Reply by Lzzter on July 24, 2008 at 4:48pm

A court is a place to hear evidence of existing charges. It's not the place to lay new charges.

Charging him with the offence of not giving his details to police does not benefit cyclists. What it means is that the police are saying that this guy did nothing wrong in relation to causing injury to cyclists. And our government says there is nothing wrong with it, and that other motorists can do the same thing with impunity.

It's a travesty and an outrage for cyclists.

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Permalink Reply by KimR on July 24, 2008 at 5:06pm

I don't have access to all the previous reports on this, but from memory, he is being charged for a road and traffic offence. If a more serous charge such as assualt with a weapon (car) was to be brought, it would require one or more of the injured cyclists to initiate action against him. Damages on top of this would be a civil manner I guess?

It's all a matter of finding a charge that is mostly likely to stick. If you aim for something more ambitious but can't substantiate it, he gets away free.

P.S.my legal knowledge is very limited!

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Permalink Reply by Colin on July 24, 2008 at 7:45pm

The injured party is not required to initiate action for an assault charge to be laid. That's a decision for the police/DPP.

However the injured party would probably have to agree to give evidence for the police/DPP to consider the charge to have a reasonable chance of conviction.

The injured parties could bring a civil action for damages. It's easier to win because the you only have to satisfy the offence on the "balance of probabilities" (ie, > 50%), whereas with a criminal action the test is "beyond reasonable doubt" (ie, approximately 100%. But it's a big, expensive hassle, and Hassan may not have much money for a payout.

This is a lawyer's perspective - Cyclotron may have a police perspective on all this...

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Permalink Reply by Silent Otto on July 25, 2008 at 8:55am

Even though I am half a world away, and have only been to Sydney once, I have been following this incident since first reading the original SMH article.

I am shocked that there is no more serious charge against this motorist other than 'leaving the scene'. This jerk should be brought up on criminal charges, starting with attempted murder.

I am shocked but not surprised, as here too a drivers license seems to be a "007" allowance. Here it is assumed by the police that any car/bicycle collision is the fult of the cyclist, no matter the circumstances. As soon as the driver would say "He was cycling irratically," or "She came out of nowhere," or "He ran the stop sign," the driver recieves an automatic 'get out of jail free' card.

I would seriously hope that the courtroom gallery is filled to overflowing with cyclists in helmets and full kit, and that some are prepared to make a rational and reasonable statement to any press-types that are there.

I would hope you all can gather the tribes, inform all the media to be there, and have a strong show of solidarity to demonstrate that there was nothing about this that was an "accident",and that this was an odious and pre-meditated crime.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathon Troy on July 25, 2008 at 12:20pm

Here's me thinking his name was "Jason".
From what I know of the legal system, he will get a discounted sentence (probably good behaviour bond or community service or something similar). He may not get a conviction - (you can committ or attempt manslaughter by having someone working in unsafe working conditions or with a weapon but you cannot do it with a car?).

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Permalink Reply by naomi on July 25, 2008 at 1:31pm

Does it make any difference that he already has a criminal record? Or that he actively went into hiding from the police when they were trying to find him?

I am actually kind of glad this court case is happening so long after the incident and that it will probably escape media interest (unless someone actually reports on the ludicrous situation). If it is widely reported that this kind of action is not reprimanded by the law it will only vindicate all of those nasty comments and irrational arguments against cyclists that appeared online after the incident and perpetuate motorists who think they should give cyclists a 'scare' when they drive passed.

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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on July 25, 2008 at 3:01pm

The only other hit and run i can think of was in South Australia when a person called Eugene Mcgee left a bar and tried to drive home... He hit and killed a cyclist then left the scene of the crime and wound up with a loss of license and a $1250 fine. It sucked

http://www.woj.com.au/category/mcgee-contempt-of-court-case

Considering he killed someone the penalties for Hassan could be much less..... You guys should really get organised and protest outside the courts.... We got great publicity when we went to parliament house in Adelaide.... (photo on the link i believe)
This would be a great time to make an example of Sydneys bad motorist mentality.

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