Truckie escapes jail sentence

[TVR-190]

A TRUCKIE who ran a red light and killed two children has walked free from court.

Brett Janson, 40, was given a three-year suspended jail term and ordered to perform 250 hours of unpaid community work as his sentence for killing Jeton Kulafovski, 6, and Lyton Mustafovski, 9.

The fathers of the two boys, who had requested the maximum jail term for Janson, reacted angrily to the County Court sentence today. the Herald Sun reports.

Kalash Mefaili, Lyton's father, said "this is f**king crap" as he walked out of the court, while outside court a seething Fidrim Halit, Jeton's father, asked reporters to "back off".

In sentencing the truckie, Judge Felicity Hampel said she took into account Janson's overwhelming remorse and guilt for causing the smash in Lynbrook, in Melbourne's southeast, on March 26, 2008.

"You are deeply remorseful and your remorse is directed to the two victims, their families and then, your family,'' she told Janson.

"There are three families, not two families, whose lives are forever changed by this tragedy.''

She said the Crown's request that he receive a maximum jail term of six to eight years was not warranted in the circumstances.

The court heard Janson entered the intersection between nine and 10 seconds after the lights had turned red before his prime mover smashed into a sedan driven by Lyton's mother Nejmie Mustafovski.

Janson, who was not speeding, drunk, fatigued or drug-affected, was looking for the entrance to a nursery and had paid no attention to the traffic lights, the court was told.

Ms Mustafovski, her daughter Lerita, 11 at the time, and another passenger Lyron, 8 at the time, were seriously injured.

Ms Mustafovski's victim impact statement, which was read to the court today, detailed the harrowing pain she endured at the loss of her son Lyton.

"When I was told my son had died I felt like my life had ended, it was like a nightmare,'' she said.

"If only the truck driver was not so reckless in his driving my son would be alive today.

"I feel so much anger towards him, I have never felt such anger before. He must be punished severely.''

Janson pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and three counts of dangerous driving causing injury.

He was convicted of all charges and also disqualified from driving for two years.

Truck driver who ran red light and killed two children avoids jail | News.com.au

Who else here thinks he deserves a jail sentence. If I ran a red light 10 seconds after it went red and killed 2 people, Id walk myself to the damn prison.

[CSP]

If he was in America he would deserve a jail sentence. In Australia though, he deserves a gaol sentence!

If people aren't held responsible for their actions, what the hell is the point of any laws?

[old mate]

its crap. this country is ruined. bring back real punishment.

did you hear about the courier who was blind in one eye, yet still had a licence and ran over a motorcyclist and didn't even realise because of his blindness.

got off without even a licence suspension or re-test. no fines, no time in the big house.

[minux]

Well, it seems like a fair sentence in todays judicial system.

Shows how easily a small distraction can cause this sort of accident.

[ClairBear]

He wasn't drunk or speeding, he made a mistake. Sure you should be concentrating at all times when driving, but how many of you can honestly say you had a close call because you were not paying attention? I imagine this man is very remorseful and guilt ridden, he probably thinks about those 10 seconds and the consequences constantly. Sitting in Jail or sitting in his lounge room won't stop the mental anguish of what he has done.

[CSP]

Perhaps if people were punished accordingly, it would mean others know the consequences for their actions are harsh, and would make sure they're always concentrating. People need to accept responsibility for their actions! So sick of the lack of accountability.

"oops" is not a good enough excuse (which is really all this excuse is).

[OFF T4P]

He wasn't drunk or speeding, he made a mistake. Sure you should be concentrating at all times when driving, but how many of you can honestly say you had a close call because you were not paying attention? I imagine this man is very remorseful and guilt ridden, he probably thinks about those 10 seconds and the consequences constantly. Sitting in Jail or sitting in his lounge room won't stop the mental anguish of what he has done.

i agree . This bloke was not breaking the law intentionally it was a mistake that he will NEVER forget. he has to live with the fact that he killed 2 young kids for the rest of his life. I reckon that is the ultimate punishment. If he was drunk or drugged up then it would be a different story.

[TVR-190]

Im with CSP, although i get what you're saying Sash, I bet he feels like crap. But it doesn't really make other people stop and think "Shit, not paying attention for 10 seconds could cost me 10 years of prison"

[Richie217]

He wasn't breaking the law and just had a lapse in concentration, as I'm sure we have all had. Unfortunately for Truckie it had Dire consequences. Leaving with the fact that he is responsible for the death of two children will haunt him for the rest of his life, there will not be a day go by that he doesn't think about them.

The father of the children has every right to be angry and upset, however ruining another families life by imposing a harsh prison sentence for what was a mistake will not make his pain go away nor will it bring his children back.

[ClairBear]

But it doesn't really make other people stop and think "Shit, not paying attention for 10 seconds could cost me 10 years of prison"

I seriously doubt many people think about consequences of breaking the law and going to jail. Most believe they won't get caught. Again I say that I am sure most of us have had lapses of concentration whilst driving and even after reading this story will continue to do so. Mobile phone beeps with an sms, you drop your smoke, you day dream and your mind wanders, the kids are fighting in the back seat.... the list goes on. You don't need to be drunk, high or speeding to cause a tragic accident, just human.

[Ace_VP]

This sort of thing is why i dont feel bad handing out traffic tickets and people ask me why im not out catching real criminals.

Some people dont realise how dangerous breaking traffic laws can be, this is a prime example and he should most definitely serve some time in gaol, just because he is sorry for it and feels bad means nothing and it doesnt bring those two kids back.

[Jesterarts]

I think the truckie should have spent sometime behind bars, maybe that 3 years he has as a suspended sentence, only because it was his mistake that caused this and it was entirely avoidable.

When he's driving a vehicle of that size and destructive power he really should be 100% on his game.

However, I do also feel for him, this bloke has already been handed a life sentence for a simple mistake. As it has been said, we all make them and this small error on his part has caused so much damage.

And he did plead guility to all his charges so it's not like he was trying to defend what happened, he was willing to take responsibility for what he did.

At the end of the day, this event has devastated one family and there is no need for it to tear another apart by sending the bloke to jail.

It's not like he's going to spend the rest of his days living carefree and happy.

From this this story, I can't really judge this blokes characted but he could have been a stand up bloke working to support his family and he just ****ed up. It will be the most costly **** up of his life.

I know the family of the victims wants what they feel is justice but I don't believe that tearing apart another family can be called justice in this instance.

[minux]

This sort of thing is why i dont feel bad handing out traffic tickets and people ask me why im not out catching real criminals.

Some people dont realise how dangerous breaking traffic laws can be, this is a prime example and he should most definitely serve some time in gaol, just because he is sorry for it and feels bad means nothing and it doesnt bring those two kids back.

Yes, those 10km/h over are just soooo deadly. If you say you do not book people for doing 115 in 100 zones I will say well done, otherwise your just another revenue raiser. If police spent as much time getting shithouse drivers and vehicles off the road as they did catching speeders that are hardly dangerous we would all be much better off.

[Ace_VP]

Yes, those 10km/h over are just soooo deadly. If you say you do not book people for doing 115 in 100 zones I will say well done, otherwise your just another revenue raiser. If police spent as much time getting shithouse drivers and vehicles off the road as they did catching speeders that are hardly dangerous we would all be much better off.

Im not in the highway patrol so dont give out speeding tickets at all. I agree on many roads with new modern cars the speed limits in some areas are to low, look at the autobahns in Germany, worlds fastest, yet safest roads. Having said that if the speed limits is set at 100km/h and you dont like police giving out tickets (revenue raising) dont speed. I think 10% is a fair lee-way, anything over 10% over the limit is blatant speeding. Whilst many people could quite easily drive 10, 20 or even 30km's an hour over the limit safely many people cant manage to drive at the limit at all without causing havoc on the roads, as a result we all suffer. I might not agree with some traffic laws, many of them I dont, but I'm tasked with the job of enforcing them. Having said that you wont see me rushing out to book everyone who doesnt indicate left off a round about or stopping every moron who drives in perfect weather with their fog lights on, but I still have a job to do and I can clearly understand why people dont apprecaite it.

[danja]

Perhaps if people were punished accordingly, it would mean others know the consequences for their actions are harsh, and would make sure they're always concentrating. People need to accept responsibility for their actions! So sick of the lack of accountability.

"oops" is not a good enough excuse (which is really all this excuse is).

Who's saying he's not accepting responsibility for the incident? You're just making the assumption that imprisonment is always the most appropriate form of punishment. A reasonable person does not need the threat of jail time as a deterrent from smashing a truck into a carload of kids.

[jules]

i agree with most people that jailing him is not a useful outcome - he made a mistake.

however, he should lose his license for a few years. it's ridiculous that he can keep driving with a promise to try harder.

[ClairBear]

it's ridiculous that he can keep driving with a promise to try harder.

Read the article again, he has been disqualified from driving for 2 years.

[Lumps of cheese]

His punishment is the fact he'll have to live with what he's done. He made a fatal mistake and has a life sentence because of it.

[Tom_1569]

Actually, comment removed, not going to bother.

[Tsunamix]

I just don't know on this one...

I think maybe in addition to his current penalties - he should get a directed sentence, where he has to educate other drivers on the 'lapse in concentration' and it's effect on families. He should do this maybe 2 days a week for the entirety of his banned from driving period. He should also pay the costs of his attendance.

yes it Limits his ability to work and support his own family. Stiff Sh*t you took 3 lives bud. On an eye for an eye system you'd be nailed to a road and driven over with your own truck.....But your wife can work, and you can work part time.

[mitchy_vn]

Perhaps if people were punished accordingly, it would mean others know the consequences for their actions are harsh, and would make sure they're always concentrating. People need to accept responsibility for their actions! So sick of the lack of accountability.

"oops" is not a good enough excuse (which is really all this excuse is).

whats wrong with you?.. This driver most likely has a family to support , might have to make his deliveries on time. Knowing the entrance was on the main road somewhere. Knowing if you missed it. It would delay you another 10mins getting their or 15mins depending on traffic and not to mention find a spot to U-turn or a street you can go in and come back around. Of course your going to be under stress to both concentrate on the road (to be careful of other drivers who most don't know what to do when around a truck usually cut in and slam their brakes for reason as traffic lights or whatever reason just brake ) and to do your job of course there's room for mistakes. This truck driver in this situation was just trying to do his job not breaking any laws, and so happened he didn't see the traffic lights, and maybe didn't have enough time to brake if he had a full load. and unfortunately he killed 2 kids. Mistakes happen and of course the father of the children would want this man locked up but the Truckee doesn't deserve to be locked up. IF YOU WERE THIS MAN I drought you wouldn't want to be locked up and you would fight in court not to be locked up. The guy did a mistake on the job. He wasn't driving his car after work on a Friday speeding to get home quickly ran a red light and killed 2 people.
oops is not a good enough excuse but it is his only excuse and accidents happen every day, that's life. Look at how many cars trucks people are on the road.
I drive a truck I see stupid drivers stupid truck drivers all the time, Stupid people in the city walking through the roads, what can you do but do your best not to have an accident.

[Grennan]

His punishment is the fact he'll have to live with what he's done. He made a fatal mistake and has a life sentence because of it.

Why dont we have this sort of "punishment" for everyone that commits manslaughter?

Thats what this man has done, he has accidentally killed 2 people. How many other people have been jailed for accidentally killing someone?

Just because he feels guilty doesnt mean he should walk free from the courtroom. Community Service for killing two people and a bit of guilt. Our justice system should be ashamed.

[Macca86]

Yep. I agree Grennan. I find it disgracefull he walked away with the 'punishments' he got. Yeah ok, everyone of us makes mistakes... but we havnt all killed two children have we? As someone said above, if I done that, id walk myself to the lockup.

[Lumps of cheese]

Why dont we have this sort of "punishment" for everyone that commits manslaughter?

Thats what this man has done, he has accidentally killed 2 people. How many other people have been jailed for accidentally killing someone?

Just because he feels guilty doesnt mean he should walk free from the courtroom. Community Service for killing two people and a bit of guilt. Our justice system should be ashamed.

Ok, so what should he have got?

[Astranomical]

Whilst many people could quite easily drive 10, 20 or even 30km's an hour over the limit safely many people cant manage to drive at the limit at all without causing havoc on the roads, as a result we all suffer.

In which case something has to be done - if a person has trouble safely driving at the speed limit, there is something wrong with either their driving skills (as we all know, driver training here in Australia SERIOUSLY needs to improve, between learners being taught by their parents, and old farts who think they can drive because they passed their test 60 years ago and still have their license), their car, or the road itself. (which wouldn't be all that surprising considering the "standard" of a lot of Australian roads...)