The young driver who fatally struck South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens’ son Charlie has avoided going to jail over the hit-run tragedy during Schoolies week.
Dhirren Singh Randhawa, 19, from Encounter Bay, was sentenced on Tuesday in the SA District Court to one year, one month and seven days in jail, with a non-parole period of seven months – suspended on condition he’s of good behaviour for two years.
He has also been banned from driving for 10 years.
He had pleaded guilty to aggravated driving without due care and leaving the scene of a crash at Goolwa Beach, south of Adelaide, on November 17.
The circumstances of the tragedy were revealed during sentencing submissions.
Charlie Stevens, 18, and three friends were celebrating Schoolies at a Goolwa Beach shack owned by his family, the court was told.
They had flagged down Randhawa at 9pm to ask for a ride to Victor Harbor but he declined, explaining that he did not want to risk demerit points on his P-plates.
He performed a U-turn and struck Mr Stevens, causing irreversible brain damage. He died at Flinders Medical Centre the next day.
Dhirren Randhawa has avoided going to jail over a hit-run crash that caused Charlie Stevens’ death
Randhawa drove away in ‘shock and disbelief’ but stopped when he saw a police car and told them what happened.
In court on October 3, Randhawa addressed Mr Stevens’ family, telling them that learning Charlie’s life support had been switched off ‘was the most difficult thing I’ve heard in my life’.
‘To Charlie’s mum and dad, seeing you on TV, talking about Charlie brought out deep sadness within me,’ he said.
‘There’s so much I’d like to say, but mostly I want to say I’m sorry. And I’m sorry Charlie.’
Grant Stevens said ‘there is not a day when we don’t shed a tear thinking about our son’
In his victim statement, Grant Stevens told Randhawa he could ‘not possibly understand what you have taken from us’.
‘There is not a day when we don’t shed a tear thinking about our son and how much we miss him,’ Mr Stevens said in court, with his wife, Emma, by his side.
‘Charlie was a vibrant, caring, fun loving, generous young man with a love of life and plans for the future. Now all we have are the memories of him and that is not enough.’
Following the sentence decision, Mr Stevens said he was grateful that the court process was over.
‘We’re grateful that Dhirren chose to plead guilty to this offence, because that brought this part of it to a conclusion much more quickly.
