A western Sydney man has been jailed for 21 months after a pursuit of three teenagers who stole his car out of his drivxjmtzyweway ended in a crash that killed two brothers.
Mazen Kabbara was sentenced in Mt Druitt Local Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of negligent driving occasioning death and lone counts of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and driving with an illicit drug present.
The 39-year-old was handed a 21-month sentence but was immediately granted bail after launching an appeal.
According to court documents, Kabbara and his wife Mirjana were at their Edmondson Park home at about 4am on November 1, 2020, when they woke to discover their family’s Holden Commodore was being driven away.
While his wife contacted police to report the theft, Kabbara took matters into his own hands and went after the thieves in another car he owned.
For 16km, Kabbara followed the three teens in the stolen car as they led him on a high-speed chase across western Sydney.
Court documents state the teens threw objects out the window at Kabbara, who was only 1.5 metres behind the stolen car during the pursuit.
When the 17-year-old driver of the stolen car slammed on the brakes, the front of the car Kabbara was driving collided with the rear of the stolen car.
The pursuit ended when the stolen car crashed into a power pole at the intersection of Cowpasture Rd and Horsley Drive.
Seconds before the crash, court documents state the teens were doing more than 150km/h in a 60km/h zone.
The 17-year-old driver and a 15-year-old passenger in the back seat were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, while a second 17-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A police analysis of the wreckage found they were not wearing seatbelts.
After the crash, Kabbara was tested and found to have been driving with traces of THC n his body; however, court documents state that police did not believe it influenced his driving ability in a major way.
Despite initially vowing to fight the charges laid against him, Kabbara pleaded guilty to a string of offences in October 2021.
Magistrate George Breton said on Thursday the loss of the young boys was a “senseless tragedy”.
While he acknowledged the 39-year-old was remorseful and had since shown accountability, his sentence must deter others from ever doing the same.
Kabbara was convicted of all four charges and sentenced to 21 months in prison with a non-parole period of nine months.
However, he immediately launched an appeal on the sentence and applied for bail, which was granted.
The court was told that Kabbara had a good track record of attending court, with Mr Breton saying the prospects on appeal were “arguable”.
He will face Parramatta District Court on March 29.
