Nine-year sentence for manslaughter in fatal car crash
A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in jail for manslaughter after killing his friend in a car crash while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Zachary Robert Kolm was driving at over 180km/h when he crashed, killing his 23-year-old friend Nicholas 'Joel' Wright.
Zachary Robert Kolm, 26, has been sentenced to nine years in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He had alcohol and drugs in his system when he was driving at more than 180km/h before a crash that killed his friend, Nicholas 'Joel' Wright.
Supporters wore Justice for Joel shirts during the sentencing hearing. The court heard Kolm was behind the wheel of an unregistered and modified car, and had alcohol and MDMA in his system, when he crashed and killed his friend, 23-year-old Nicholas 'Joel' Wright.
The court heard five people were in the car as Kolm did burnouts and skids around the Bundaberg CBD in the early hours of the morning on August 5, 2023. The car was then seen driving along Burnett Heads Road, with GPS data showing it was travelling at 188km/h, before it crashed into a sugarcane paddock, rolled and hit a power pole.
The courtroom, with standing-room only, was packed with more than 40 people for the sentencing, including supporters of both men. Mr Wright's loved ones, wearing Justice for Joel T-shirts, shook their heads and commented to each other after the sentence was handed down that it was "f*****g b******t".
The court heard Kolm and Mr Wright spent time at a Bundaberg hotel in the evening before the crash, and had invited friends to do burnouts with them. The court heard the car landed on its roof in the sugarcane field after Kolm failed to navigate a curve in the road. Mr Wright was pinned underneath the car and died from mechanical asphyxiation.
When paramedics arrived, Kolm said someone else had been driving and they had left the scene. The court heard he then lay on the road, shaking, and was later shaking in the ambulance, but a report by paramedics questioned if it was a genuine seizure.
Justice Graeme Crow described Kolm's actions at the scene of the crash as "disgraceful", saying there was not "a shred of decency" that night. But he acknowledged Kolm was remorseful, as he had called Mr Wright's father the day after the crash and has confessed he was the driver, and apologised. "I hope you understand the pain you have caused," Justice Crow said.
Defence lawyer Callan Cassidy said his client "wishes he could change places with the deceased". Kolm will be eligible for parole in April 2029.