A father who lost his toddler son on Christmas Day when the quad bike his dad was doing “doughnuts” on crushed the child has been sentenced to community service as retribution for his negligence.
Lincoln Browne was killed after his father lost control of the car when the 2020 family was gathered in the paddock of their house in Victoria’s northeast.
Christopher Browne’s wife, who County Court Judge Michael Cahill praised for having stayed steadfastly faithful, stood by him in court on Thursday.
The only thing keeping Browne, now 33, going, according to a psychotherapist who has treated him, is his feeling of duty to care for his wife and their younger kid.
Before Lincoln was born, the couple lost twin daughters to stillbirth.
Browne’s physician pleaded with the court to show mercy, claiming he had already endured enough.
Browne offered rides in his brand-new off-road buggy to the family who had gathered at his Barnawartha North residence for a Christmas dinner.
The bike overturned as Browne was doing a series of donuts, speeding up and down the driveway with Lincoln, 2, on his lap, and his sister standing by him.
Although efforts were made to resuscitate Lincoln once he and his wife hurried to his side, the little child was unable to be rescued.
Browne’s offence, according to Judge Cahill, was objectively significant since both he and his son acted without restraint.
Browne had disregarded a safety interlock that would have restricted the vehicle’s speed to 25 km/h by sitting on top of the buckled seatbelt.
There were supposed to be no more than two passengers in the buggy.
Later, Browne admitted to the police that he had become careless about his safety and had been attempting to frighten his sister.
He admitted to reckless behaviour threatening severe harm and risky driving resulting in death.
According to his father-in-law, Browne has been reclusive since the collision and will always bear the burden of the mishap.
He was compared as a shadow of his former self by a buddy.
Normally, a significant offence with such catastrophic repercussions would result in a jail term, according to Judge Cahill.
However, the court determined that a three-year community corrections order with 250 hours of unpaid community service would meet the sentence guidelines for punishment and rehabilitation.
Moreover, Browne will get an 18-month driving ban.
A jail term had been requested by the prosecution.
They said that in a related instance, another parent received a sentence of more than three years in prison and his appeal request on the grounds that it was clearly disproportionate was denied.