Driver's 'recklessness', burnout led to unnecessary and avoidable death' of passenger, court hears

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains details that may be upsetting.

A Berridale man was “trying to do something really f–king dumb in the car” moments before a car crash that killed another man, a court has heard.

Marcus William Hargrave, now 24, and another man, 25-year-old Michael ‘Smiley’ Ryan had been drinking at a Cooma home on the night of 18 November 2023.

The two left the home around midnight in an an uninsured and unregistered car, with Hargrave driving and Mr Ryan in the passenger seat.

In sentencing Hargrave in the NSW District Court on Tuesday (19 November) for manslaughter, Judge Jennifer English said it was these actions that would lead to the “wholly unnecessary and avoidable death” of Mr Ryan.

“He was not to know that as a result of getting into a motor vehicle with the offender, he would miss out on his wedding, becoming a loving husband, having another chance at fatherhood,” she said.

“He died through no fault of his own.”

After the two left the party, Hargrave drove them along Vulcan Street. While driving at 90 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, he performed a 70-metre-long burnout.

The car then left the road, “colliding heavily” with a tree.

Mr Ryan wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. He hit his head on the windscreen and sustained fatal injuries.

After the crash, an injured Hargrave left the scene “without even trying to render assistance, remaining with him or immediately calling” for help from emergency services.

“He [Hargrave] acted in an extremely cowardly fashion,” Judge English said.

After contacting several people who refused to help him, a third person agreed to pick Hargrave up at about 12:12 am the next morning (19 November).

When they arrived, he told them, “‘I was trying to do something really f–king dumb in the car. I f–ked up'”.

Hargrave refused to be taken to Cooma Hospital, insisting on being taken to the ACT instead.

On arrival at a Canberra Hospital, he claimed to have been involved in a “farming accident”, and would return a blood ethyl alcohol concentration of 0.127 grams per 100 milliliters of blood.

Officers took him into custody at the hospital, and he would ultimately tell them he enjoyed performing burnouts.

Judge English said Hargrave had a demonstrated “high degree of recklessness” in the immediate lead up to the crash and also had shown a history of doing burnouts.

“This was not an opportunistic offence committed by a young 18-year-old showing off to his mates,” she said.

An investigation by police found the rear braking system of the car had been disabled, which is “common in vehicles” being used for burnouts.

Shredded rubber was also found in the back wheel arches, also consistent with the car being used for burnouts.

Hargrave was extradited from the ACT in November 2023 and arrested.

He later pleaded guilty in the Queanbeyan Local Court earlier this year, for which Judge English awarded a discount to his sentence.

Judge English said Hargrave, who previously worked as a metal fabricator and in the building industry, would have access to family support and employment upon release.

She said that while he had shown some remorse, it was “difficult to say” more as he had made “an attempt to disagree with the facts to which he has pleaded guilty”.

For a charge of manslaughter, Hargrave was sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years.

The sentence was backdated to include time spent in custody, meaning he will be eligible for parole in May 2030.

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