A man who sped through the Hunter Economic Zone (HEZ) and pulled the handbrake on a Subaru, sending it spinning out of control and injuring bystanders, could serve a jail term in the community, a court has heard.
Ewan Jamesson Andrew Howard, now aged 20, was flanked by supporters as he faced a sentence hearing at Cessnock Local Court on Tuesday, August 18.
DPP prosecutor Nick Latham and defence barrister Russell Boyd agreed that Howard faced a term of imprisonment for the serious charges stemming from the crash at Abermain in February 2025.
"The message must be sent to others ... that vehicles are not to be played with," Mr Boyd said.
"It was nothing but sheer luck that nobody, including Mr Howard, was killed."
Mr Boyd argued Howard could serve his sentence at home under an intensive correction order (ICO), with additional conditions like community service, while prosecutors pushed for full-time custody.
Both the prosecution and defence handed up written submissions and tendered videos that Judge Robyn Richardson will watch before she decides Howard's fate.
The court heard the videos contained dashcam footage from the night, and would also reveal the nature of a "vigilante" assault on Howard after the crash, which Mr Boyd said the court must condemn.
"One can understand the emotions on that night, but it's just not an excuse," he said.
Howard was an 18-year-old P-plater when he drove his mother's Subaru Liberty at 90kmh along Bromage Road, a known burnout and street racing hotspot, just after midnight on February 16, 2025.
He pulled the handbrake on and lost control. The Subaru travelled backwards and skidded for 33 metres before hitting a kerb, travelling another 11 metres, and crashing into two vehicles.
The impact left one woman with a fractured skull and hearing loss, and a man with leg injuries that required surgery. Both wrote letters to the court detailing their suffering.
Four other bystanders were taken to hospital for assessment, including two young girls whose parents had driven to the HEZ to pick someone up but had then broken down.
A mob of people surrounded Howard's car, banging on the windows and threatening him.
He was dragged out, kicked and punched, lost consciousness then came to on his knees in the middle of a circle of people kicking him.
The assault continued. At one point a man threatened to hit him again unless he gave them a phone number, resulting in a "brutal" call to his mother.
When police arrived, Howard told them he was "being a f---wit".
He was taken to John Hunter Hospital in an ambulance.
The court heard details of Howard's subjective case, including his ongoing trauma after the "protracted" assault, how he had shown remorse, and that he had good prospects of rehabilitation.
Howard pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, causing bodily harm by misconduct and not wearing a seatbelt. The DPP elected to prosecute the case in the local court.
Judge Richardson will deliver her judgment later this month.
