Learner driver jailed for 7 months after police chase

A learner driver has been jailed for seven months after leading police on a high-speed chase in West Busselton.

Connor Angus McGeachin, 19, was sentenced in Busselton Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, having pleaded guilty in April to driving in a manner that was inherently dangerous to escape pursuit.

McGeachin is believed to be the first person in WA to be charged under the new law, which came into effect on December 11, 2012, and carries a mandatory minimum sixmonth jail term.

Police saw McGeachin speeding on Hadfield Avenue in Busselton at 10pm on December 14.

McGeachin accelerated when police activated their lights and sirens, reaching a speed of more than 110km/h in a 50km/h zone.

McGeachin drove on the wrong side of the road around a stationary vehicle at the Bussell Highway T-junction and went west, swerving into the path of oncoming traffic 30m ahead.

He then turned left into Broadwater Boulevard and right onto Timbermill Crescent where he stopped and was arrested.

McGeachin told police he had consumed alcohol before driving the car and had tried to escape because he did not want to get in trouble.

He said he stopped because he realised “someone was going to get killed”.

Legal Aid lawyer Fiona Walsh said McGeachin was ready to go to jail and the minimum term of six months was sufficient.

Prosecuting officer Sergeant John Mawson said he was reluctant to ask for a tougher penalty, but he did not accept McGeachin had shown remorse.

The case was delayed when McGeachin tried to reverse his guilty plea first entered on April 2, citing inadequate legal advice.

But Magistrate Elizabeth Hamilton said she was satisfied he had been represented by competent counsel from an early stage.

She fined McGeachin $100 for driving in contravention of his learner’s permit and sentenced him to seven months imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for two years for driving dangerously to escape pursuit.

McGeachin is the second person from Busselton to receive a mandatory jail term under the new law.

On April 2, Vasse man Shane Matthew Sullivan, 26, was jailed for six months for the offence.

Yesterday, a 19-year-old Busselton woman was due to appear by video link in Busselton Magistrate’s Court on charges of driving dangerously to escape pursuit, failing to stop when called upon in circumstances of aggravation, driving while not legally entitled to and unlicensed vehicle.