A father-of-two who ran a red light in Sydney and killed an off-duty police officer has been spared jail time by a judge who accepted his genuine remorse.
Tommy Balla, 38, was sentenced to a two-year intensive correction order if he passes a home detention assessment report.
The tradie had an honest but unreasonable belief that the light was still amber when he began making his fatal right-hand turn on June 18, 2020, Judge Stephen Hanley said in the NSW District Court on Monday.
Following his split-second decision "do I go or do I stay?" his ute collided with Constable Aaron Vidal's motorcycle as he was riding home from work.
The four-year army veteran died at the intersection in Sydney's Hills District.
Judge Hanley said the expectant father was entitled to the reasonable expectation that the intersection would have been clear for him to cross.
However, he was also satisfied that his unlawful "lane filtering" weaving through traffic to get ahead of cars likely contributed to the circumstances surrounding the crash.
"I am satisfied it occurred as a result of (Balla's) inattentiveness," Judge Hanley said.
The fact that Mr Vidal never got to meet his newborn baby was something that for Balla as a father "truly pains him deeply," the court was told.
