Loved ones of Charlie Stevens deliver victim impact statements

ABC NEWS (Australia)

South Australia’s Police Commissioner has held back tears as he told the district court of his family's heartbreak over the death of his youngest son in a hit-and-run crash last year.

Transcript

00:00The hearing was an opportunity for family and friends of Charlie Stevens to tell the

00:06District Court about how his death in a hit and run had impacted on them.

00:10His father, South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, stood at the bar table with

00:13his wife Emma and told the judge of their heartbreak.

00:17He said not a day goes by when they don't shed a tear for Charlie and losing him just

00:21as he was becoming a man had taken the colour from their lives.

00:24They said special occasions like birthdays and Christmas had become difficult and the

00:28Commissioner became visibly upset when he spoke about Charlie's birthday in April when

00:32he would have turned 19.

00:34Mr Stevens told the court the family would never be able to return to Goolwa where the

00:38crash happened and that some songs were too painful to listen to.

00:42Nineteen-year-old Diren Randhawa has pleaded guilty to aggravated driving without due care

00:47and leaving the scene of the crash.

00:49He read a letter of apology expressing his deep regret and remorse for what happened.

00:54He said he thinks of Charlie every day.

00:57His lawyer argued the teenager shouldn't be jailed because of his young age and lack

01:01of criminal history.

01:02She told the court Randhawa may also be deported if jailed.

01:06But the state's most senior prosecutor called for an immediate jail term, saying this case

01:10was unusual because of the devastating effect of Charlie's death on the broader community.

01:16He said it had impacted people because the might and the power of the Police Commissioner

01:19was not enough to protect Charlie.

01:22Randhawa will be sentenced later this month.

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