6 days ago
Snapchatting driver Peter Agius jailed for crash that killed Adam Sutton
A Victorian driver who was distracted by a series of Snapchat messages and caused a crash that killed a Glengarry man will spend almost a decade behind bars.
On Thursday Traralgon man Peter Agius, 23, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court to nine years and eight months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years.
He has already served 122 days.
In March Agius was found guilty by a jury of culpable driving causing the death of livestock agent Adam John Sutton and negligently causing serious injury to Mr Sutton's son, Darcy, on January 31, 2023.
Mr Sutton, 35, had collected six-year-old Darcy from his first day of school when Agius's vehicle collided with their car at the intersection of Traralgon-Maffra and Farmers roads in Glengarry.
Mr Sutton died at the scene.
Darcy was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital with critical injuries.
He suffered a permanent brain injury.
The court heard Agius sent 44 Snapchats and received 41 responses while driving down the busy road before the crash.
One of those replies came 20 seconds before the crash.
In his sentencing, Judge Kevin Doyle said the circumstances amounted to an "accident waiting to happen".
"You should have seen Mr Sutton slow to turn — you should have slowed down in response," he said.
"You failed to because you were not paying attention on the road.
Judge Doyle said the crash was a "complete tragedy" for all the people involved.
The courtroom was filled with Mr Sutton's grieving family members on Thursday.
In a previous hearing Mr Sutton's mother, Leanne Sutton, said her son's death was a "harrowing experience" that no parent should ever have to go through.
"It's a living nightmare, which sadly can only be truly understood with a lived experience," she said in her victim impact statement.
Ms Sutton added there were "so many emotional scars" that would never heal.
She said about 1,000 people attended Mr Sutton's funeral and 2,000 more watched the service online.
Ms Sutton's husband, Ray, said the loss of their son had put the family in a state of shock and that family functions had never been the same since.
