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A teenage boy has been jailed for five years after a car crash in Hobart left a young mother dead and doctors battling to save the life of her unborn child.

The judge described the sentence as heavy and the boy’s behaviour as “chillingly dangerous” in Tasmania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He will be eligible for parole after serving half of the term.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was driving a stolen Toyota Rav 4 when he T-boned the Nissan Ms Paino was driving in January.

He was 15 when he sped through the streets of Hobart exceeding 100km/h with the headlights off and three other children in the car.

The car had earlier flown past police at speeds approaching 120km/h but the officers did not give chase in accordance with Tasmanian police policy.

Minutes later, the Toyota sped through a red light collided with Ms Paino’s Nissan with such force that it knocked the vehicle across four empty lanes.

She had just dropped her husband Daniel Stirling off to work at a bakery. It was just after 1am.

In sentencing the boy for running a red light and killing Ms Paino in the collision, Supreme Court Justice Helen Wood said his “chillingly dangerous” behaviour demanded a “heavy” sentence.

“His actions killed Ms Paino, nearly killed her unborn child and exposed her (backseat passenger) two-year-old son to the risk of death or serious injury,” she said.

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence the boy as an adult, meaning the maximum penalty for manslaughter would be 21 years. The same crime for a youth would attract a two year jail term.

Did he really get a “heavy” sentence?

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  • This sentence is a joke. I often think about this poor lady and her family. The teenager should have been given at least 20 years.

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  • How can anyone say 5 years for what he did is a heavy sentence?!?! He took a life, very nearly 2 lives, and could have been more. He destroyed the lives of those left behind. I think using his low iq and ADHD as a defence is pathetic. He’s still capable of knowing right from wrong. He should have been home in bed, what’s wrong with these kids parents!?!?!?

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  • 5 years with possibility of parole at half term? That doesn’t sound heavy at all to me. :-(

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  • This so tragic and is just so awful and heartbreaking.


    • It is hard to understand sentencing for crimes?



      • How do they determine the time versus the loss of life?

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  • I don’t think that’s a heavy sentence, and I doubt her family does either.

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  • It\’s a tragedy. They made all kinds of excuses, he has a low IQ and suffers ADHD, but even people with these conditions know right from wrong. I think the parents of these kids should be looked into as well. These kids were aged between 12 and 15, what were they doing roaming the streets at that hour? How can 5 years, which will only be 2 1/2, be enough fir the loss of a mother, partner, daughter, sister??? No where near long enough in my opinion. No wonder the crime rate us on the increase

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  • I believe he is being charged as an adult for the manslaughter charge.
    I wonder how much on top of that he is going to get for the other charges which MUST be added on, not served during the same time
    Speeding, illegal use of a motor vehicle. I agree with the Police not giving chase. He probably would have tried to go even faster to evade them. If they put their lights and siren on, even if they didn’t chase that is another law he has broken. I reckon he should get a NON parole sentence of much more than the adult normal charges, especially if the Police activated their lights & siren. It is a real miracle the toddler in the back wasn’t killed too…..He put his passengers at risk too.

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  • This is not a heavy sentence,a life has been lost.

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  • How is this a heavy sentence? This is an insult to Sarah’s family.

    Reply

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