Perth man who nearly killed paramedic jailed for 18 months

  • Walter Haaf will serve mandatory period of just nine months after the 2016 crash
  • He was sentenced in a Perth court Tuesday for nearly killing Wesley Ackerman
  • Mr Ackerman was trapped for up to 45 minutes and was kept in coma afterwards 

A drug driver who nearly killed a paramedic when he crashed head-on with an ambulance could spend as little as nine months behind bars. 

Walter Haaf was sentenced to 18 months prison in a Perth court Tuesday after getting behind the wheel while high on methamphetamine in October 2016.

The 33-year-old’s lawyer said he had taken the drugs to help him stay awake while he worked night shifts to keep his building business afloat, Nine News reported. 

Walter Haaf crashed into the ambulance while he still had methamphetamine in his system, which his lawyer said he took to stay awake while he worked night shifts

Paramedic Wesley Ackerman was trapped inside the wreckage for up to 45 minutes after being struck head on by the Nissan Navara on a Mundijong Road bend in Baldivis, 46 kilometres south of Perth. 

Mr Ackerman returned to work as a paramedic six month after the incident but still suffered from the injuries he received in the crash. 

He was in a coma for days afterwards and received spinal injuries, a broken jaw, fractured ribs and internal injuries.

Paramedic Wesley Ackerman (pictured) was trapped inside the wreckage for up to 45 minutes after being struck head on by the Nissan Navara and still suffers from his injuries 

Paramedic Wesley Ackerman (pictured) was trapped inside the wreckage for up to 45 minutes after being struck head on by the Nissan Navara and still suffers from his injuries 

Haaf (centre) was sentenced to 18 months prison in a Perth court Tuesday after getting behind the wheel while high on methamphetamine in October 2016

Haaf (centre) was sentenced to 18 months prison in a Perth court Tuesday after getting behind the wheel while high on methamphetamine in October 2016

Haaf pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 18 months jail, with him eligible for parole in nine.  

The court heard he was nearly finished the rehab program he checked himself into a week after the crash, and he had been offered a job when he got out.

He has been banned from getting behind the wheel for two years.  

Mr Ackerman was in a coma for days afterwards and received spinal injuries, a broken jaw, fractured ribs and internal injuries

Mr Ackerman was in a coma for days afterwards and received spinal injuries, a broken jaw, fractured ribs and internal injuries

Haaf could spend as little as half his sentence behind bars, with him eligible for parole after just nine months

Haaf could spend as little as half his sentence behind bars, with him eligible for parole after just nine months

 



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