Driver Jailed for Killing Cyclist Badly Brain Damaged After Being Bashed in Jail

[redsonic]

From the ABC Newswebsite:

At 65, nurse Cathy Irvine has put off retirement and is working night shifts to help provide around-the-clock care in her home for her 36-year-old son Robin Irvine.

"He cannot stand or walk without the aid of a mechanic lifter or people helping him," she said.
Ms Irvine told the ABC he had difficulty speaking, swallowing and seeing.

The sustained assault in his cell, included being "stomped on" by a fellow inmate and resulted in extensive brain bleeds requiring surgery, fractured eye sockets, a broken nose. His mother said "it looked like he suffered a stroke at the same time".

Ms Irvine told the ABC no help came for an hour-and-a-half.

In 2015 Mr Irvine was sentenced to nine months' jail for negligent driving after he crashed into a cyclist, causing the woman's death.

He was refused bail pending an appeal and within a week-and-a-half in prison he was assaulted by a prisoner with a violent criminal history.

We should remember when we call for custodial sentences that prison can be life altering

[BJL]

We should remember when we call for custodial sentences that prison can be life altering

I don't know the circumstances surrounding his conviction but nine months in prison in exchange for a life is a pretty lean sentence don't you think? I'm not condoning what happened to him and it's not right either but there is a reason he was in prison. The fault here lies with the prison system in not keeping violent offenders under control.

Don't try to turn this around on us.

[biker jk]

We should remember that negligent driving around vulnerable road users can be life ending.

[brokenbus]

http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/ ... sts-death/

Given he was refused bail, you would wonder about his previous history.
While I do feel sorry for his mum as she looks like she will be his lifetime caregiver, if he was my kid, I would be pretty hesitant in whinging too loudly given what he has done.

[RonK]

We should remember when we call for custodial sentences that prison can be life altering

Careless and aggressive drivers who kill other road users should remember that prison can be life altering.

[Derny Driver]

Why was he bashed?
He was possibly as big a X#%! in gaol as he was behind the wheel of a car.
Sorry but no sympathy from me.

[find_bruce]

Given he was refused bail, you would wonder about his previous history.

You might have missed the subtle distinction - pending an appeal - it is far harder to get bail after a person has been convicted & sentenced.

[biker jk]

At about 7.45am on Sunday, May 10, 2014, Mrs Bryant was cycling along the Ulan Road just outside Mudgee when Irvine’s vehicle entered the 50km/h zone, still doing about 70-80km/h, drifted over the side fog-line and hit her from behind.

After the collision, his vehicle continued on through a guard rail and into a culvert.

'It’s no small note that the defendant has caused the death of another human being.'
- Magistrate Darryl Pearce

Irvine initially told police that he’d had a sneezing fit but later admitted he was coming back from his third 12-and-a-half-hour shift at a mine in Ulan.

http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/ ... sts-death/

[trailgumby]

Not as life altering as being killed. A reminder that poor decisions can have worse consequences. I feel much more empathy for his mum.

Make good decisions.

[macca33]

Wow, the pitchfork brigade is well and truly out...

The bloke appears to have made an error and killed the poor woman, whilst he was fatigued from working. Whilst he is an a-one arse, he is hardly as culpable as many others and certainly didn't deserve this outcome.

What if this bloke was one of your relatives????

[DavidS]

9 months is way too short when someone gets killed. Driving a car is a big responsibility and is not taken seriously enough by most with a licence.

Our prisons need reform so these sort of incidents don't happen, and while we're at it, we try and help those who are in prison to have hope for a better life. Prison should be about more than just taking people out of circulation.

How we treat those who are the most marginalised in our society is a real indication of what sort of society we live in.

DS

[RonK]

I feel empathy with the friends and family of the cyclist.

[m@]

Prison is meant to be life altering, but not like this.

That's no reason to avoid custodial sentences for serious crimes like negligently killing somebody, though.

[MichaelB]

Prison is meant to be life altering, but not like this.

That's no reason to avoid custodial sentences for serious crimes like negligently killing somebody, though.

My thoughts too. It's not a good outcome for ANY involved.

[cyclotaur]

Nothing good ever comes from negligent driving, or any other criminal action. The effects can ripple and reflect in many directions and are difficult to control.

Everyone affected in any way deserves our sympathy and society's best efforts to help, support and rehabilitate them (where possible) to lead the best life they can in future. The costs, in all forms, if we do otherwise are way too great.

[Top_Bhoy]

The jailed killer chose to drive when fatigued hence rightly or wrongly, as a regular road cyclist, I get more upset when I read the perpetrator only got 9 months prison time and not the treatment or the injuries they received in prison. A 9 months prison sentence seems an unacceptable and inadequate punishment that serves as little deterrent to others.

[human909]

This is tragic and should not have happened.

Prisons should NOT be a dangerous place for inmates. As a society we should do our utmost to ensure prisoners are safe from physical harm from other prisoners.

The roads should NOT be a dangerous place for road users. As a society we should do our utmost to ensure road users are safe from physical harm from other road users.

[redsonic]

This is tragic and should not have happened.

Prisons should NOT be a dangerous place for inmates. As a society we should do our utmost to ensure prisoners are safe from physical harm from other prisoners.

The roads should NOT be a dangerous place for road users. As a society we should do our utmost to ensure road users are safe from physical harm from other road users.

This is how I feel about the case too, Human. I made my original comments because people on these forums have in the past belittled the prison experience (gym, TV, what a holiday etc). I question whether people who have been negligent and careless (as this driver obviously was) should be sharing confinement with people who are violent/ psychotic.

[human909]

I question whether people who have been negligent and careless (as this driver obviously was) should be sharing confinement with people who are violent/ psychotic.

I don't think anybody should be sharing confinement with people who are violent/psychotic. Though this is very much a prison issue. Prison is normally considered a very poor deterrent. But we have yet to find better ways in society to provide deterrents to severe offending.

Sure we have targeting speeding and drunk driving. But somehow along the lines we have completely forgotten about careless and reckless driving. Not to mention allowing a car is king culture to perpetuate. There are better ways to address this but in the absence of prevention we still need to punish those who are unlucky enough for their reckless behaviour to result in death.

(Lets be honest here, the are probably 1000s of other drivers just as reckless, for every reckless driver who is unlucky enough to kill somebody.)

[AdelaidePeter]

I have sometimes wondered whether prison is an appropriate sentence for people who cause death by negligent driving. Prison is very much there to protect society from offenders, which in the case of dangerous drivers can be achieved by keeping them from behind the wheel of a car.

I'd prefer to see something like lifetime cancellation of their license, plus a massive ongoing fine (like 10% of their income, or $10,000 per year, whichever is greater, for life). That way the person could continue to contribute to society instead of being a burden on society in prison. And the huge ongoing fine would in some ways be as much of a punishment as a short prison sentence.

Unfortunately, prison still needs to be an option because a large number of people who have their license cancelled, drive anyway.

[eldavo]

I have sometimes wondered whether prison is an appropriate sentence for people who cause death by negligent driving. Prison is very much there to protect society from offenders, which in the case of dangerous drivers can be achieved by keeping them from behind the wheel of a car.

I'd prefer to see something like lifetime cancellation of their license, plus a massive ongoing fine (like 10% of their income, or $10,000 per year, whichever is greater, for life). That way the person could continue to contribute to society instead of being a burden on society in prison. And the huge ongoing fine would in some ways be as much of a punishment as a short prison sentence.

Unfortunately, prison still needs to be an option because a large number of people who have their license cancelled, drive anyway.

Very good point.
The system is as mature and modern as the hammer and sickle.

[redsonic]

Here is an opinion piece which criticises the custodial sentence as being too harsh, but also has a lot of information about the circumstances Robin Irvine found himself in during his 9 days in prison.
The Saturday Paper.

[ColinOldnCranky]

I fear that the hating turds that post in the daily on-line rags every time there is a story about cyclists have infiltrated this forum.

I make no apology Turds. Much of what is said in this particular thread is not any different than the tripe that cycle haters post elsewhere.

And no, I am not a troll. I have posted here over 5,000 times sensibly and moderately as mostly we do. But this thread is beyond the pale and some should have a look in the mirror before they rant about cycle haters posting their bile in future.

[biker jk]

Sure, gaoling motorists for killing cyclists is such an unfair punishment. After all, it was just an "accident", could happen to anyone, and the poor motorist will have to LIVE with what they have done. It didn't take long for the usual apologist to comment.

[redsonic]

I fear that the hating turds that post in the daily on-line rags every time there is a story about cyclists have infiltrated this forum.

I make no apology Turds. Much of what is said in this particular thread is not any different than the tripe that cycle haters post elsewhere.

And no, I am not a troll. I have posted here over 5,000 times sensibly and moderately as mostly we do. But this thread is beyond the pale and some should have a look in the mirror before they rant about cycle haters posting their bile in future.

Wow, attack the message, not the man. Where in this thread is there anything anti cyclist?