LAW STUDENT DID NOT STOP AFTER AN ACCIDENT

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 October 1946, Page 6

LAW STUDENT DID NOT STOP AFTER AN ACCIDENT

ONE MONTH’S IMPRISONMENT (P.A.) Christchurch, Oct. 4. Frank Winston Sargent, a law student, aged 31, was sentenced by Mr. Justie Smith to-day to one month’s imprisonment on a charge of failing to slop after an accident in which a boy cyclist was killed.

“The day following the accident you spent the time in various activities at a sports club and the pictures, all of which' appears to be rather callous," commented His Honour in .passing sentence.

Appearing for Sargent, Mr. C. S. Thomas traversed the prisoner's six years of war service which he said had resulted in deterioration in health and in a nervy and despondent mental state. "In a statement made on the day he gave himself up, Sargent conveyed the impression that he panicked and bolted, and it seems that he had no idea that the injuries to the boy were as serious as they actually were," said Mr. Thomas. “The next morning he found, to his horror, that the boy had been killed, and, after a day of indecision, he told his father that night and gave himself up the next day. In such case a driver ha.> only a very short time to make up his mind. If he stops at once everything is all right; if he hesitates for a second all is list and we have such a case as is before the Court to-day. “I was not able to detect any evidence of mental disorder,” stated the report of a psychiatrist, Dr. J. E. Saville, assistant medical officer at the Sunnyside Mental Hospital, who had examined Sargent.

“As is the case with so many men who have fought in the recent war and have witnessed scenes of mass slaughter, there seems to be a tendency to minimise injury, or even the death of others, with a corresponding increase in a desire, or instinct, to save one’s own skin, at whatever cost. Such an attitude tends to become habitual, and leads to selfish and callous behaviour, which is quite foreign te the normal pre-war make-up of the individual.

“According to his own statements to me, and I have no reason to doubt them, although there is no question of actual drunkenness, his judgment appears to have been definitely impaired by alcohol at the time. My opinion is that he was probably day dreaming while driving, and that when he saw the- cyclists his reaction time was so delayed by alcohol that he was unable to pull out quickly enough to avoid an accident. His subsequent behaviour and his present attitude 1 can only attribute to a moral and social hardening, resulting from his war experiences.”

“Since the accident happened, Sargent has suffered greatly from remorse, in addition to the state of mind he was in as the result of his long war service,” Mr. Thomas said. “I must refer to what I consider to be the essentials of the case,' said His Honour, addressing the prisoner. "Your plea of guilty implies that you must have known that an accident had occurred.” It was very important to consider whether or not alcohol came into the case. The charge of negligent driving had been dismissed in the Magistrate’s Court, but if the prisoner's judgment had been affected by alcohol, there would be a case of negligent driving. However, in view of the magistrate’s decision, it would be unfair to the prisoner to consider the effects of alcohol as playing a part in the accident.

"I must regard you as a properly responsible person, who brought about the accident through no negligence on your part, but who failed to stop and ascertain if anybody had been hurt," said His Honour, in passing sentence.