R v Bozzola [2001] NSWCCA 8

Reported Decision : 122 A Crim R 453

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : R v Bozzola [2001] NSWCCA 8 FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60222/00 HEARING DATE(S) : 07/02/00 JUDGMENT DATE : 6 March 2001

PARTIES : Regina v Peter Anthony Bozzola JUDGMENT OF : Giles JA at 1; James J at 2; Hulme J at 67

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 96/31/0428 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL Christie DJC OFFICER :

COUNSEL : H Dhanji - Appellant LMB Lamprati - Crown SOLICITORS : DJ Humphreys - Appellant SE O'Connor - Crown CATCHWORDS : Proviso to s6 of the Crimes Act DECISION : Appeal dismissed

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL 60222/0l GILES JA JAMES J HULME J

Tuesday 6 March 2001 REGINA v Peter Anthony BOZZOLA

JUDGMENT

1 GILES JA. I agree with James J. 2 JAMES J: This is an appeal by Peter Anthony Bozzola against his conviction, after a trial in the District Court before his Honour Judge Christie and a jury, on two charges under s52A of the Crimes Act, that on 30 May 1995 near Narrabri he was driving a vehicle (which was a Mack Prime Mover), when it was involved in an impact which occasioned the death of James Lindsay Dovey (the first count in the indictment) and grievous bodily harm to Laura Edith Dovey (the second count in the indictment), the appellant at the time of the impact driving his vehicle in a dangerous manner. 3 Although it was alleged that the offences had been committed on 30 May 1995, the trial did not take place until February last year. After the jury had returned its verdicts of guilty on 16 February, no application was made to continue the appellant's bail and the appellant went into custody on 16 February 2000. On 4 May 2000 Judge Christie sentenced the appellant on the first count in the indictment to a term of imprisonment for two years, with a minimum term of one year commencing on 16 February 2000 and expiring on 15 February 2001 and on the second count in the indictment to a fixed term of imprisonment of six months commencing on 16 February 2000. 4 At the trial there was no dispute that at about 2.30 in the afternoon of 30 May 1995 the truck which the appellant was driving in a northerly direction on the Newell Highway between Coonabarabran and Narrabri ran into the back of a stationary, or almost stationary, Kenworth truck which was being driven by a Mr Smith. Mr Smith had stopped his truck just before some road works on the Highway. Another vehicle, a car, had stopped at the road works in front of Mr Smith's truck. A car, which was being driven by the male victim and in which the female victim was a passenger and which had been travelling in a northerly direction on the Highway, ran into the back of the appellant's truck. The male victim was killed instantly and the female victim was seriously injured. 5 At the trial the appellant made formal admissions of a number of the elements of the offences charged, so that the only element of each offence which was left in issue was whether at the time of the impact the appellant had been driving his vehicle in a dangerous manner. The jury were also required to determine whether the appellant had established a defence under ss(8) of s52A, that the death or grievous bodily harm occasioned by the impact was not in any way attributable to the manner in which the appellant had been driving his vehicle.