STATE OF TASMANIA v STEPHEN JAMES GATENBY 16 SEPTEMBER 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Stephen James Gatenby, you have been found guilty, by jury verdict of one count of causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving.
On 31 December 2021, you travelled to a campground at Lake Barrington. Your brother and some of his friends had gone up earlier and were camping there overnight to celebrate the new year. They had set up camp in the top corner of the campground, near the peak of the hill, with the balance of the campground sloping down towards the lake. It was not your intention to spend the night at the campground. You attended there in order to drop off your brother’s son. On route, however, you lost your way and thus by the time you arrived at the campground, you were running low on petrol. A decision was made that you would camp overnight. Thereafter, you began to consume a considerable amount of alcohol. At points throughout the evening, you wandered into the camps of others and were described as very drunk and aggressive. There was ample evidence on the trial to establish that by the time you returned to your brother’s site in the campground, you were very intoxicated. For example, there was evidence that you nearly walked into a fire pit in a camp further down the hill. Campers there had to intervene to protect you. There was also evidence that you had to be assisted to walk up the hill to your brother’s camp because you could not manage it unassisted. At one point, you became angry and threw punches at those who were trying to assist you.
I am satisfied that when you returned to your brother’s camp, he suggested you should go to bed. You did not appreciate his suggestion. You spear tackled him to the ground, and thereafter there was something of a scuffle between you and your brother. I reject your evidence that it was your brother who was initially aggressive. Such a claim is inconsistent with the balance of the evidence as to your demeanour by that stage of the night. Other people at the camp intervened and pulled you and your brother apart. At that point, you ran towards your motor vehicle. Others at the camp yelled out words to the effect of “Get the keys” and “Don’t let him drive”.
You ignored those warnings and got into your vehicle. Your vehicle was parked facing down the hill towards the lake. You started the vehicle and revved the engine. One of your brother’s friends, a Mr Dick, attempted to reach in through the driver’s side window and grab the car keys. He was unsuccessful in doing so. I find that during this encounter; he did not strike you or punch you in any way. I reject your evidence as to that. You then drove off in the motor vehicle. I find you initially accelerated harshly, as evidenced by a divot in the ground where your vehicle was parked. You drove your vehicle some 20 metres down the hill, at which point it collided with a tent. I find at no point did you have proper control of your vehicle because of how drunk you were. The path taken by the vehicle was a gradual left-hand curve rather than a straight line. Without hesitation, I find the path taken by your vehicle was a direct consequence of your inability to steer because of intoxication rather than you being hit by anyone as you drove. Having seen your record of interview with police, and having observed you give evidence on the trial, I am firmly of the view that the account you gave in evidence was a reconstruction, offered by you in an attempt to explain your conduct and avoid having to accept responsibility for the terrible consequences of your driving. I accept you are genuinely upset about the harm that was caused, and you find it more palatable to suggest there was some intervening event that contributed to the course your vehicle took, rather than acknowledge this all happened because you drove a motor vehicle when you were so intoxicated that you could not even walk properly.
Jhett Miller, his mother, her partner and Jhett’s younger brother and sister were all sleeping in the tent. The tent was caught under your vehicle and dragged forward some metres. That action caused considerable injury to Jhett, and other members of his family were trapped inside the tent momentarily. I will return to the details of that shortly.
After your vehicle struck the tent, it slowed considerably. At this point, Mr Dick and Mr Hammond, who is the uncle of Jhett, approached your vehicle and tried to turn it off and grab the keys to stop you driving any further. They were unsuccessful in doing so. I find that in the action of trying to grab the car keys, someone turned the headlights on. Prior to this point, your headlights had not been illuminated. You continued to drive the vehicle further down the hill of the campground.
About 50 metres further down the hill, you drove into a tree. Other campers observed your vehicle going back and forth, presumably in an effort to disentangle yourself from the tree. Ultimately, you did so, but then continued to drive through the campground. At another camp, there were a number of people standing and sitting around a fire. You drove through their camp colliding with an awning that was on a HiAce van, and then proceeded to drive in very close proximity to other campers, traveling within a metre or so of camp chairs where people were seated. Ultimately, you ended up colliding with a second tree which halted your progress.
Members from that camp approached your vehicle once it had struck the tree. They were concerned as to your welfare but also questioned you as to your actions. When they told you that you had just driven through their camp, you essentially denied it, and then tried to drive off. You were revving your vehicle and spinning your wheels. At least two campers were involved in wrestling the keys from you and shutting the engine off. They pulled you from the car. You struggled with them but eventually you were restrained.
All the people in the tent were injured and/or traumatised in some way by your actions. The most badly injured was Jhett. He was left with a fracture in the left ankle and fractures around his pelvis and hip area. His spleen was damaged and he had significant friction burns to his left leg. His sister was left with a cut on her forehead. His mother had a badly sprained ankle. Her partner, and Jhett’s younger brother were also badly shaken.
Jhett was taken to hospital. He was later transported by air to the Royal Hobart Hospital. He stayed in hospital for a period of three weeks. There were significant concerns about internal bleeding from his spleen and liver. Following release from hospital, Jhett was in a wheelchair for approximately one month. The friction burn to the left shin area was a full thickness burn. The friction burns required three separate operations, initially to remove the dead skin and underlying blood clots and then to wash and dress the wounds. A further operation was required to place a skin graft to encourage the healing of the burnt area. Jhett has experienced a number of complications associated with the treatment of the friction burns, necessitating 17 appointments at the burns unit, associated with the treatment of his injury. More appointments are anticipated. It is also likely further surgery will be required as he grows.
The consequences of your dangerous driving for Jhett and his family have been pronounced. I have impact statements from Jhett and his mother. Jhett asked me to read his statement to myself, so I will not go into detail as to its contents. It is sufficient to say that it describes in compelling terms the pain he endured after the collision, and during his time in hospital; the difficulties associated with his mobility thereafter; the trauma and pain associated with the skin grafts, and his understandable concerns that he is likely to endure ongoing difficulties, including permanent nerve damage and mobility issues, into the future. Jhett also notes the feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment he endured because he was unable to attend to basic personal needs on his own. He missed out on important things at school and with friends because of the constant medical appointments. The psychological impact upon Jhett has also been significant. He experiences anxiousness, flashbacks and is apprehensive around vehicles. He lives with scars which are a constant reminder of the incident. He has been denied the enjoyment of camping trips, which was something his family did regularly and enjoyed together.
Ms Turner’s impact statement notes the broader impact the crime has had upon the whole family. Beyond the obvious time and effort associated with the level of care that Jhett required, Ms Turner’s statement speaks to the trauma associated with seeing her child in pain and the stress associated with making decisions as to his ongoing treatment. She experienced feelings of guilt, knowing she needed to be with Jhett, yet not being able to be present for and support her other children. She notes the grief associated with no longer being able to enjoy camping trips, which were an important and treasured family tradition. She speaks of the ongoing stress and anxiety that she and the children now feel if they hear loud cars or see poor driving behaviour. Both Ms Turner and the children have received counselling because of the psychological impacts of your crime.
There is no question that your conduct has had a profound impact upon all aspects of Jhett’s and his family’s life. Those impacts are likely to be felt for many years, and in Jhett’s case, most likely the whole of his life.
You are 32 years of age. You have a number of relevant prior convictions. Your offending commenced as a youth. In that jurisdiction, you were dealt with for offences of dishonesty, violence towards police and offences contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act. As an adult, you have prior convictions for unlawfully possess dangerous article in a public place and being drunk when in possession of a dangerous weapon. You also have convictions for bail offences, offences contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act, offences contrary to the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act, including drive under the influence of intoxicating liquor, offences involving injuring and destroying property, common assault and trespass. The type of offences on your criminal history is consistent with a person who has regularly consumed alcohol to excess.
In January 2021, you were made subject to a Community Correction order for a period of 12 months commencing 27 January 2021, in respect to a matter of assault. You were subject to that order when this crime occurred. To your credit, since the commission of this crime, there has been no further offending.
You grew up in a family where physical abuse was common, and parental support minimal. You were diagnosed with a mild to moderate intellectual disability during your primary school years, with your IQ being assessed at 54. You left school in year 9 because of those difficulties, and bullying that you experienced at school. You have since held various positions of employment predominantly in labour-based industries. You have had no difficulty in securing work and generally you are considered a good worker. I am told you are skilled in mechanical tasks. You are in a long-term relationship. There are four children born to that relationship and additionally your partner has two children from a previous relationship, who only recently came to live with you. Your two stepchildren experienced considerable trauma at the hands of their biological father, and they have been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD respectively. You play a very active role in raising the children and your two stepchildren have become very reliant upon you. I am told that they are experiencing considerable distress and exhibiting challenging behaviours since your remand in custody. I have received a letter of support from your partner which outlines the commitment you have shown to your family, and the efforts you have made since this incident to rehabilitate yourself and maintain a stable lifestyle.
It is submitted that you are very remorseful for your conduct. I accept that in no way did you set out to cause harm to anyone and you are very sorry for the injuries Jhett sustained and the effect that they have had upon him and his family. You mentioned several times in your record of interview that you felt terrible about what had occurred, had experienced many sleepless nights and had contemplated suicide. It is also apparent from the record of interview, however, that you have little recall of the true events of this night, and as I have already commented, it was obvious to me that much of your evidence was a reconstruction. So, whilst I can accept you regret your conduct, and are sorry for the ultimate consequences of your actions that night, you have not demonstrated a preparedness to accept responsibility for what you did and have sought to attribute blame to others, so as to make it easier for yourself to come to terms with your conduct. There is an element of selfishness associated with that, which is inconsistent with the type of remorse that attracts lenience in sentencing. Jhett and his family were required to give evidence and relive the trauma associated with this evening. It was obvious from their presentation in Court that it was a very difficult experience for them.
I take into account your intellectual impairment and the effect it has had upon your life generally, although I note there is nothing before me to suggest the Verdin considerations have application. That said, I can accept that an individual who functions with an IQ Of 54 is more prone to impulsive actions and emotionally dysregulated responses, the extent of which would be exacerbated by excessive alcohol consumption. At the heart of this offending, however, was your intoxication. Following your arrest, you submitted to a blood test, which returned a reading of 0.218 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. It cannot be said, for various reasons, that that was your blood alcohol reading at the time of the collision. Irrespective of that, having heard the evidence on the trial, I conclude without hesitation, that you were exceptionally intoxicated when you drove the motor vehicle. Only a short time earlier you had been unable to walk up the hill. You knew you were very drunk and you choose to get into a motor vehicle and drive off rapidly, knowing that there were many people about in the campground. The risk associated with that would be obvious to anyone.
There are aggravating features of this crime. After you struck the tent, you continued to drive. You resisted efforts by others to remove the keys and stop the vehicle. By continuing to drive through the campground you put many others at risk. It was pure luck that you did not strike anyone else. At the time, you were on a P1 driver’s licence and therefore were not permitted to drive a motor vehicle with any alcohol in your system.
Whilst this act of dangerous driving was relatively short lived, involving a distance of only about 20 metres prior to the impact with the tent, and a total distance of about 127 metres, the nature of the driving was highly dangerous. There were many people about. There were no formed roadways, you had to navigate your exit through various camps. There was very little lighting. You failed to turn your headlights on. You accelerated harshly initially. Your level of intoxication meant you had no control over your vehicle as evidenced by the fact that within 20 metres of commencing driving, you had collided with a tent.
It must have been blatantly apparent that by driving the motor vehicle when you were as drunk as you were, that there was a very strong risk that you might cause someone serious, or even fatal, injury. To be frank, it is extremely fortunate, that you did not kill someone this night when you drove as you did.
The manner of your driving represents a very significant abandonment of your responsibility as a driver and involves serious criminal conduct. Over the past two decades or so, courts in this State have repeatedly emphasised that cases involving death or injury caused by dangerous driving, require penalties that are sufficiently severe to deter both the offender and others who may be similarly minded. The collision and its aftermath have caused great harm to Jhett and his wider family. His ongoing physical and psychological harm were caused by your dangerous driving, and that cannot be diminished.
I accept that since this crime you have not offended and you have focussed on leading a law-abiding life centred around your family. Your involvement in this matter has been a salient experience and has led to a change in your attitude. For many months after the incident, you did not leave the house. I also accept that your intellectual impairment means you are more vulnerable within the prison environment and likely to face additional challenges. Your personal circumstances, however, must be weighed against the objective seriousness of this crime, and the obvious need for a strong sentencing response in the hope that others will be deterred from similar conduct.
Balancing all matters, I make the following orders. Stephen James Gatenby, you are convicted of the crime of causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving. You are sentenced to imprisonment for a period of two years and six months, commencing 22 June 2026. The last nine months of that period of imprisonment will be suspended on condition that for a period of two years, you commit no offence punishable by imprisonment. I order that you not be eligible for parole until you have served one-half of the operative period of imprisonment. You are disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for a period of two years following your release from custody. I make compensation orders in favour of Monique Turner in an amount to be assessed.