The man, now 20, cannot be named because he was three days short of his 18th birthday in April 2009 when he committed the offences, including two counts of aggravated causing serious harm.

The Adelaide District Court was told a fight between two groups outside a Hindley Street nightclub in the city spilled into nearby Currie Street.

The court was told a brawl between two groups had spread and the man wanted to scare away three other people involved in the fighting, so deliberately ran and got a friend's car to drive into the group.

Judge Anne Bampton said the man had driven on the wrong side of Currie Street.

"You continued driving at the men so as to scare them (but) you did not intend to make contact with them," she said.

"You realised your car would strike them and applied the brakes."

She said the man also had not realised he dragged one of the men under the car for up to 200 metres.

Brain and spinal injuries

Judge Bampton told the man his momentary lack of judgment had serious and lasting effects, including brain and spinal injuries for two of the victims.

"You appreciate now you should have called police before the situation escalated and you should never have got in that vehicle," she told him.

The judge mentioned the man's good employment record, his strong dedication to his religious faith and said he had now become a role model for younger people in the community.

Judge Bampton said she would sentence him as an adult on two of the charges and as a youth on the remaining charge.

He was given a 28-month sentence on top of 10 months in detention for the third charge, but Judge Bampton took into account the time he had spent in both youth and home detention, suspending the sentences.

"You are unlikely to reoffend and do have good prospects of rehabilitation," she told him.

The man was put on a 12-month bond.>

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/10256389/no-jail-for-teen-who-drove-into-group-during-brawl/

Her honour was not convinced he did it with the intent to harm and he was under 18 at the time. 

As much as I abhor the violent gangs we now have in Australia it probably wouldn't have done much good to have this youth violated by Bubba in gaol and come out meaner, with a gaol education and even better excuses for next time.

What about striking at the root cause, which the police aren't allowed to talk about?  For instance, the uncle of a football star was recently killed in one of the common brawls betwen Islanders and Aboriginals.  Nine men were said to have attcked him and two were gaoled as I recall. 

The federal government needs to re-think the social experimentation and social reengineering that it is promoting in this country.

what a crock!!! drove right at them but did not intend to hit them,momentary lack of judgement,good employment record,,,oh and lets not forget the biggie..strong religious beliefs...no politicion or govt dept made him drive that car,throw him in jail and that judge should go right behind him

Hang 'em high, eh what?  But you say gaol Her Worship, the woman judge as well?!  Hot damn, you are a pistol!

Isn't the mantra that women judges have "latent capabilities that the world cannot do without" and that makes them into "superior judges"?  Recently, Australia's very own Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce said in a lecture to schoolgirls that women are better decisionmakers than men (she was thinking of Julia Gillard no doubt), so it must be true.

Seriously though, the Court could only take the evidence into account.  Otherwise emotion and the mob rule, with judges' decisions being based on populism.

your hilarious, im sure she meant ALL female judges

I was saying that the subject woman judge was being professional and there are many women like her.

However 'Our' Ms Julia Gillard and 'Our' Ms Quentin Bryce are good at riding the feminist gravy train.  If you must send anyone to gaol, send them as frauds.

dont start with the feminist crap,it annoys me....what i should of said is the young guy should go to jail,and i cant believe the judges comments,therefore i brand her an idiot ok....as fwed said "what do you have to do to get sent to jail"

Our Justice system makes me sick, so many get off with a smack on the wrist time that if they do the crime they do the time --and I mean TIME.

Time to come down HARD on these hoods including any unaceptable behavior and graffti etc and make people responsible for their own acts.

"what do you have to do to get sent to jail"

That is an irrelevancy because the evidence did not prove the intent.

Blame the prosecution for not providing the evidence if you must blame someone.

anyone as long as its not the "young man"responsible right,he"s a bad boy and i bet he promised to behave...smack on the hand and off you go...

And it doesn't say much for his STONG religious faith !

zzenda

No, you are just not getting it.

As far as I am concerned he and all of the gangs should be rounded up and sent to work on chain gangs cleaning the highways and growing and cooking their own food to support themselves.  Put some troopers on horses with Winchesters to guard them.

Yes good idea Nautilus

dont you use that tone with me "naughtie"and for the second time in two days i agree with you.chain gang good idea...oh that hurt more than the first time ..lol

Look, it is a pity that sometimes scrags get off because they have a clever brief. 

The only thing that we can be sure of in this case is that there wasn't sufficient evidence for Her Worship to do a Judge Judy.

On the other hand if it was you in the lens and Plod was asking for the harshest (and you hadn't done 'it' of course) you would see the silk who got you off (sorry, vindicated your innocence) as a learned gentleman and salt of the Earth.

BTW, I am serious when I say that many of the louts and violent criminals should serve at least part of their time cleaning the road verges and rest areas.  Much better men than them do it for trifling pay and work building railway lines and roads in scorching heat.