A former Shepparton chef who had been drinking at a strip club before he deliberately hit a 22-year-old pedestrian with his car, fracturing his skull, has been jailed.
Judge Paul Lacava said Hitesh Guha, 36, overreacted in a “violent and aggressive way that was totally unnecessary” after being “somewhat provoked” by a group of pedestrians.
On March 14, 2020, Guha knocked off work at the Terminus Hotel about 10pm, drinking with friends at the venue and later at Club Rawhide.
Guha and his friends left the club just after 2am, with Guha driving despite being unlicensed at the time.
Driving quickly west along Fryers St in Shepparton, Guha attempted to turn left into Wyndham St but came to a stop near pedestrians who were crossing at the intersection.
Both the driver and pedestrians had a green light.
One of the group of four pedestrians called out to Guha, “p*** off, mate, it’s a green light, let us walk”, provoking a verbal argument between the two.
Guha pulled into a parking spot along Wyndham St and tried to leave his car to fight, but the victim held the car door shut and they continued to swear at each other before the victim slapped Guha in the face.
The victim was pulled away by a friend and they turned around and walked away to join the rest of their group.
Guha reversed out of the parking spot and then accelerated quickly, performing a U-turn with his tyres screeching, crossing multiple lanes on Wyndham St and then straightening the wheels of his car and accelerating towards the victim.
The front left of the car hit the back of the victim’s legs and he flew five to six metres through the air, landing on the footpath.
“Nowhere have I seen genuine empathy for the harm your conduct has caused the victim” — Judge Paul Lacava
Guha drove off, driving through a red light and turning into Fryers St.
The victim was taken to Goulburn Valley Hospital with bleeding on the brain, a skull fracture, retrograde amnesia, bruising and abrasions.
“Fortunately for the victim, and fortunately for you, he was not more seriously injured as a result of your deliberate use of a motor vehicle as a weapon,” Judge Lacava said.
At the plea hearing in June the court heard a victim impact statement where the young man said he remembered waking up in the ambulance not knowing if he would walk again.
When he was interviewed by police days later, Guha denied he deliberately straightened his wheels to hit the victim and further denied to a psychologist it was a deliberate decision.
Judge Lacava said he couldn’t find any evidence of genuine remorse from Guha and he considered his prospects of rehabilitation as “guarded”.
“Nowhere have I seen genuine empathy for the harm your conduct has caused the victim,” he said.
Guha was released on bail after he was charged with the offending, but days later breached a bail condition not to contact any witnesses for the prosecution when he approached a work colleague who had given a statement to police.
Guha was born in India and came to Australia in 2008, studying commercial cookery and working as a chef in Shepparton on a temporary visa.
He has previously faced Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in 2016 and 2017 for assault.
Judge Lacava accepted Guha had been diagnosed as showing depressive symptoms and been experiencing low mood, suicidal ideation and anxiety in the lead-up to the road rage incident.
But he rejected a submission by Guha’s defence that there was a connection between his mental illness and the offending, while taking into account the impact it would have while he was in prison.
He also accepted the “overwhelming burden” that would weigh on Guha of the likelihood of his visa being cancelled and that there would be hardship for his partner and their child as a result of his imprisonment.
Guha was sentenced to six months in jail, with an 18-month community corrections order to commence when he is released.
The order includes conditions to undergo supervision and treatment and programs for drugs, alcohol, mental health and to reduce reoffending.
His driver’s licence was cancelled and he was disqualified for the mandatory minimum of 12 months.
Guha pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury and summary charges of failing to render assistance, dangerous driving, unlicensed driving and breaching a conduct condition of bail.