04-06-2025
P-plater jailed for killing Nick Campo in high-speed crash on way to Perth nightclub
A Perth teenager who was behind the wheel when his ute crashed, killing young footballer Nick Campo, has been sentenced to more than three years in jail.
Mr Campo had been celebrating his 18th birthday in July last year when the car he was a passenger in hit a kerb, rolled and smashed into a Jeep on Farrington Road in North Lake.
Five people were injured and Mr Campo died at the scene.
The 17-year-old P-plate driver of the ute was charged with manslaughter, and three charges of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
He was sentenced in the Perth Children's Court on Wednesday to three years and two months in prison, and must serve half of that before being eligible for parole.
"This is a very tragic case," Children's Court president Hylton Quail said in sentencing him.
"The consequences will live with the victims and their families forever".
The now-18-year-old was due to be sentenced in May, but this was delayed due to a dispute over the potential role peer pressure and other evidence played in the tragedy.
The group travelling in the car were eager to get Leederville's Daisy's nightclub, which they incorrectly believed had a midnight shut-out policy.
The driver told the court the mood in the car was "amped" and "a bit rushed", especially after he had to stop at a service station for fuel.
He said someone in the back seat told him to "gun it" through a red light, but that responsibility for the crash was his alone.
The court heard from two passengers — both aged 18 — who survived the crash, with one telling the court he had little memory of the night.
The other had been in the front passenger seat which was unbolted and facing the back of the car.
He testified he also heard someone encourage the driver to speed and ignore the red light.
The driver surrendered his bail in November as a show of remorse, with defence counsel Michael Tudori telling the court the teenager continued to have "vivid flashbacks" of the crash.
Mr Tudori said the teenager had been attacked twice in custody and had his head stomped on during one of those incidents.
He said the student managed to complete Year 12 last year, with his school encouraging him not to attend his graduation ceremony in person.
Cars had long been the driver's passion, with the court hearing the front passenger seat had been removed while he conducted maintenance on the ute.
Mr Tudori said the chair had been replaced in haste, and the driver had thought it "looked cool" and like a "limousine" with the seat facing the wrong direction.
The matter has been heard in the District Court in Perth to accommodate the large number of supporters for the driver and the crash victims.
Tensions have been high throughout the proceedings, with a fight breaking out between supporters for the driver and Mr Campo in the courthouse corridors last month.
Mr Campo was one of 188 people killed on WA's roads last year, the highest road toll since 2016, when 195 people died.
His family have spent the last year raising awareness about road safety to spare other parents.
