A young carpenter who was under the influence of drugs when he rammed a Victoria Police officer and broke his leg has managed to avoid jail.
Key points:
- Benjamin Saurini was found guilty of negligently causing serious injury over an incident in 2019
- Saurini was driving a vehicle that hit police officer Rohan Brown, causing serious injuries
- He has been ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work
Benjamin Saurini, 22, has appeared in the County Court of Victoria where he was sentenced to a two-year community-based order after a jury found him guilty of negligently causing serious injury over the incident at Sunbury, west of Melbourne, in 2019.
Judge Peter Wischusen also ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
“You are in full-time work. You will find that [unpaid work order] extremely difficult to comply with but that is part of the punishment,” the judge said.
He convicted Saurini and warned him that he would go to prison if he breached the terms of his community order.
“Do you understand that?” the judge asked.
“Yes, Your Honour,” Saurini said.
In 2019, Saurini and two friends were parked on the gravel shoulder of Reservoir Road in Sunbury, where they were smoking cannabis.
The court heard the road was dark because there was no street lighting.
Senior Constable Rohan Brown, who was driving a police car, saw the group and came to a stop in front of Saurini’s vehicle.
But as the police officer and his partner left their car, Saurini sped off, crashing into Senior Constable Brown.
The court heard that Saurini’s vision was impaired by the lights of the police car and condensation.
Judge Wischusen said that the 22-year-old was also possibly affected by the drug ice.
“You maintained that because of the bright lights, you couldn’t see the vehicle … and you did not know that anyone had been hurt in the collision,” he said.
