Cyclist death - 13 years for drunk/drugged driver - Melbourne

http://www.theage.com.au/national/cyclists-death-13-years-jail-for-drunken-driver-20091214-ksai.html

SEAN Brindle was 35, a student who excelled at university and was about to become a father. Luke Adam Shields, 32, rebelled at school, then abused multiple drugs and repeatedly broke major road rules.

Mr Brindle, a trainee ambulance paramedic, is now dead; his brother Alun, 33, is recovering from serious physical and cognitive injuries; and Shields - responsible for the death and destruction - will remain in jail at least until 2019.
There is a remembrance plaque for Sean on the Path of Honour at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, while Alun's lifelong reminder will be grief and pain.
A year ago this Christmas Eve, the brothers were struck from behind on their bicycles by Shields, speeding, drunk and high on LSD, on Beach Road, Mentone.

The County Court heard earlier that Shields, who had two prior convictions for drink driving and another for driving at a dangerous speed, had a blood alcohol concentration of .221.

Shields pleaded guilty in October to charges that included culpable driving and negligently causing serious injury to Alun, who sustained a traumatic brain injury.
An aeronautical engineer with the navy, Alun described the ''considerable hatred'' he felt for Shields.

Judge Tony Duckett summarised Shields as the child whose parents - who abused alcohol and verbally abused him - described as a ''shy, kind, considerate and well-mannered and loving son whose life has been destroyed by … addiction''.
Judge Duckett accepted that Shields' remorse was genuine, but assessed his prospects for rehabilitation as poor. Shields was sentenced to 13 years with a non-parole period of 10 years.

tragic story. So for a very rough guideline it would be fair to expect a productive set of legal circumstances to take 1 year to bring someone to justice.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/cyclists-death-13-years-jail-for-drunken-driver-20091214-ksai.html

SEAN Brindle was 35, a student who excelled at university and was about to become a father. Luke Adam Shields, 32, rebelled at school, then abused multiple drugs and repeatedly broke major road rules.

Even had Brindle been like Shields, his death would still have been a tragic waste.

I imagine that such sentences are rarely passed in Australia, too?

Oh I dunno... but then I'm a vengeful bastard.

Even had Brindle been like Shields, his death would still have been a tragic waste.

I imagine that such sentences are rarely passed in Australia, too?

Not sure Oliver, to be honest. I read Aussie press every day and I rarely see these kind of stories. Not saying it doesnt happen, just that the coverage is limited.