Ryan James Byrne jailed over ‘selfish and reckless’ drink-driving decision that caused death of father Dwaine

A WA judge has told a young concreter that he will have to spend the rest of his life learning to live with the fact that his “selfish” and “reckless” behaviour caused his father’s death. Justice Anthony Derrick made the comment as he jailed Ryan James Byrne for six years and eight months in relation to the horror crash that took place on Melbourne Cup Day last year. During the sentencing hearing, the court was told the 23-year-old was three times over the drink-drive limit, on drugs and had been driving erratically, reaching speeds of up to 115kph in a 50kph zone, in the three minutes before the crash on Summerton Road, Calista on November 3. Byrne had been at the Kwinana Hotel celebrating the race that stops the nation with his 52-year-old father Dwaine when the pair become embroiled in an argument. Soon after they decided to leave with both men deciding Byrne, who had been aggressive towards his dad, should drive because he had drank the least alcohol. When they left Byrne was “angry, upset and crying” with the court told witnesses heard tyres squealing as they drove away. Byrne also ran over kerb when they left the pub and was then seen speeding and driving erratically. It was as they made their way down Summerton Road, that Byrne, who by this stage had reached “excessive speeds”, veered onto the wrong side of the road. As he swerved to avoid two oncoming cars, his Toyota Hilux slid and then rolled four to five times before landing on its roof. His father, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the car onto the road and sustained severe head and chest injuries. He died a few days later in hospital. When police arrived, the court was told they heard Byrne say “I love you” to his father then say “it’s my f...... fault man”. In sentencing submissions, Byrne’s lawyer Simon Freitag said it was “an awful twist of fate” that his client had walked away from the crash relatively unscathed but that he had suffered significant trauma as a result of knowing he had killed his father. Prosecutor Beau Sertorio told the hearing the State accepted Byrne was genuinely remorseful and the incident was a tragedy — but he said it was a tragedy that could have been avoided. He said Byrne made the decision to drive that day, exposing not only his father to a risk of harm but also other road users. The court was told Byrne had drank beer and smoked cannabis before he got to the pub then consumed between two to three pints as well as two to three shots while there before getting into his car. Tests revealed he had a 0.142 per cent blood alcohol reading and 7.9mcg of cannabis in his system. In sentencing Byrne, Justice Derrick took into account his guilty plea, genuine remorse, age and his mental health issues. The court heard he has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder following the crash. He also said he was “conscious ” that by sending him to jail it would add “to the grief and trauma” experienced by his four siblings who had lost their father and would now lose their brother. But he said he was also conscious of the grief and trauma felt by his father’s partner, who in her victim impact statement revealed she was still struggling with losing the man she intended to spend the rest of her life with. “For the rest of your life you are going to have to live with the consequences of your selfish and reckless conduct that caused the death of your father,” he said. “I know this will not be easy and I recognise this will act as a further form of punishment.” But he said a message needed to be sent to other people who showed a “selfish disregard to other road users” by getting into their cars in an “intoxicated and agitated state” and causing the death of a person that they will be dealt with by the law. He jailed Byrne for six years and eight months and made him eligible for parole after serving four years and eight months. He also banned him from driving for five years.