Father is jailed after drinking 40 cans of alcohol, crashing his car into a power pole and killing his son – as his supporters lash out outside court
- A man has been sentenced to a minimum of five years jail for fatal car crash
- Thomas Richard Baksh, 36, was drunk when he slammed into power pole in 2018
- His son Daniel Baksh, 12, was sitting in the front passenger and died at the scene
A father who drank up to 40 cans of alcohol before he crashed his car into a power pole, killing his young son, has been jailed.
Thomas Richard Baksh, 36, from Kialla north of Melbourne, had been drinking at a children’s birthday party when he drove his car with three child passengers.
His son Daniel Baksh, 12, was sitting in the front passenger seat when he lost control of the car and slammed it into a power pole on Wanganui Rd, Shepparton in August 2018.
Thomas Richard Baksh (pictured), 36, from Kialla north of Melbourne, had been drinking at a children’s birthday party when he drove his car with three child passengers
Daniel Baksh (pictured), 12, was sitting in the front passenger seat when the car slammed into a power pole
Baksh had consumed the cans of bourbon at the children’s party before driving his two sons and teenage step-daughter to McDonald’s, the County Court of Victoria heard, according to the ABC.
CCTV footage played to the court showed Baksh drinking from a can as two of the children went inside the McDonald’s to buy food and witnesses said they saw the car hit the curb as it left the carpark.
Baksh had a blood alcohol reading of 0.152, had traces of cannabis in his system, was on his learner’s licence, and was driving an unregistered car when he crashed the vehicle.
Pictures of the scene show the car wrapped around the power pole on the road near Shepparton, Victoria
Baksh had a blood alcohol reading of 0.152, had traces of cannabis in his system, was on his learner’s licence, and was driving an unregistered car when he crashed the vehicle
Tributes at the 2018 crash site
The 12-year-old was tragically pinned between the power pole and the dash in the crash and died at the scene.
Baksh pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and two counts of reckless conduct endangering life.
He was sentenced to eight years and will be eligible for parole in five years.
Judge Gavan Meredith said Baksh had been ‘grossly negligent’ and was so drunk he was ‘incapable’ of controlling the car.
His supporters were seen lashing out at reporters outside the court.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the boy’s mother Emma Pridmore said she would ‘never get over’ the tragedy.
She and the couple’s other son Matthew, 10, who was also in the car, have not spoken to Baksh since the crash.
‘It’s impossible to describe losing our son at the hands of someone he should’ve been able to trust,’ the victim impact statement read.
Baksh has entered an alcohol rehabilitation program since being in custody.
The crash was on a road in Shepparton a rural Victorian town north of Melbourne in 2018