Death driver loses appeal

A young driver who hit and killed a father of two during a cat-and-mouse car chase in his Holden Commodore V8 lost his appeal against his 16-month sentence yesterday.

Matthew Winwood, 23, was sentenced in the Bunbury Magistrate’s Court in January, after he was found guilty in December of dangerous driving causing the death of Michael Hennessy in 2009

Winwood appealed against the sentence on the grounds it was ‘manifestly excessive,’ as he had no previous criminal record, had not consumed alcohol before the incident and was extremely remorseful.

During the trial the court was told Winwood was involved in a "cat-and-mouse" pursuit with another car, driven by Matt Gumbrell, and travelling well over the 60kmh limit when he hit 41-year-old Mr Hennessy on Blair Street, Bunbury, on August 2, 2009.

But the Supreme Court found while the penalty was at the ‘‘upper end’’ of the scale, it was not excessive.

Commissioner Sleight said there was also the issue of deterrence to consider.

He said he found it disturbing that Winwood had admitted it was common practice for young people in Bunbury to engage in pursuits of other vehicles and that prior to the incident with Mr Hennessy, Mr Winwood had not thought about the risk involved.

Winwood is eligible for parole but is disqualified from driving for two years.