Arabic version: سائق من كانبيرا يستأنف الحكم الصادر بحقه في حادث دهس تلاميذ

According to ABC News, Tayler Hazell has appealed the 13-year-and-two-month prison sentence he received for hitting two schoolboys with a stolen car in Canberra’s south. The ACT Supreme Court imposed a nine-year non-parole period earlier this year after Hazell pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including two counts of culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm.

The incident occurred in March 2025, when Hazell took a green Holden Commodore from outside a childcare centre in Sutton, New South Wales. The owner’s eight-year-old daughter was in the back seat. Hazell drove a short distance, then stopped and allowed her to get out after telling her, “Oh, you’re a girl.”

Under the influence of drugs, Hazell then drove erratically, hitting a car near a Queanbeyan school and damaging a barrier at a safety crossing before entering the ACT. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, sustained serious injuries after being struck while waiting to cross the road outside St Edmund’s College in Griffith. Hazell continued towards the Manuka shops, where he crashed.

At a full-bench Court of Appeal hearing, Hazell’s lawyer, Sarah Baker-Goldsmith, advanced seven grounds of appeal. She argued that the sentencing judge did not give appropriate weight to Hazell’s deprived childhood, expressions of remorse, risk of institutionalisation and extra-curial punishment arising from injuries he suffered during his arrest. Prosecutors said the judge had considered those factors, including a finding that Hazell had tried to reduce his culpability by falsely claiming he did not know the girl was in the car. The court reserved its decision.

In a separate matter, Hazell is suing the federal government over force used by Australian Federal Police officers during his arrest. An investigation found the force breached professional standards. He is seeking damages for injuries, fear and embarrassment.