A Northern Territory man who ran over and killed another man in a New Year's Eve hit-and-run before leading police on multiple car chases has been sentenced to more than four years' jail.
Wayne Abdul Sultan, 36, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Wednesday for killing Jason McCormick, 46, and not checking on his welfare or calling emergency services.
The NT Supreme Court heard Mr McCormick was riding his bike home from a pub in Winnellie just before 10pm last New Year's Eve when he fell off, knocking himself unconscious on the road.
Justice Graham Hiley said a concerned driver, with his family in the car, stopped to check on Mr McCormick, but before he could call emergency services he saw Sultan's car driving toward them.
The court heard Sultan ran over Mr McCormick's head and torso and drove off, before stopping in a car park a little way down the road.
The man who had pulled over called police and paramedics who performed CPR, but Mr McCormick was pronounced dead at the scene.
In sentencing, Justice Hiley said he rejected submissions there was no evidence that if Sultan had stopped to help Mr McCormick he could have saved his life.
"That is not the point, you were not to know the injuries inflicted by your car [were so serious]," he said.
"I think the main reason for you acting as you did was simply to avoid the police, knowing you would be apprehended for breaching your parole."
He also noted that Sultan was not charged with a more serious offence because there was no evidence he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or that he was speeding at the time of the accident.
Victim's family 'devastated'
Justice Hiley acknowledged Mr McCormick's family and friends who attended the sentencing, with some becoming emotional as details of the incident were read out.
In a victim impact statement, Mr McCormick's father said his family were "still coming to terms with what happened to [his] son that night and the way it unfolded".
"My children are all devastated at losing their brother and my son John has had to seek counselling to deal with what's happened," he said.
Justice Hiley told the court he "had not heard any expression of sympathy expressed from [Sultan] to the family and friends of Mr McCormick".
"Most decent people would express sympathy for this type of incident even if they didn't think they were at fault," he said.
Sultan drove at police officer
The court also heard Sultan was involved in two high-speed police pursuits around Darwin in the days following the hit-and-run, at times reaching speeds of more than 170 kilometres per hour in suburban areas.
During one confrontation with police, the court heard Sultan drove directly at an officer, forcing him to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the car.
As well as the hit-and-run charge, Sultan pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering serious harm; dangerous driving during a pursuit; and driving disqualified, unregistered, and uninsured.
The court heard Sultan had an extensive criminal history in the NT and South Australia, including previous jail time for driving dangerously and unlicensed.
Justice Hiley also said mental health assessments conducted on Sultan showed he had bipolar disorder and a mixed personality disorder.
He received a jail term of four years and two months, backdated to April, with a non-parole period of two years and six months, making him eligible for release in October 2019.
