Arabic version: سجن سائق من تامورث إثر حادث مميت بسيارة معدلة

According to ABC News, Charlie Ernst Keogh, 27, has been sentenced to three years and two months in jail after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death over a Tamworth crash that killed 18-year-old Logan Power. The crash occurred on March 10, 2025, when Keogh smashed into a power pole while driving a dangerously modified “skid car”.

Mr Power died after being thrown from the vehicle. Tamworth District Court heard Keogh had been travelling at no less than 92 kilometres an hour in a 50km/h zone. Judge Peter McGrath said Keogh had modified the car by clamping its rear brakes and adjusting the differential for burn-outs, making it harder to control. A forensic examination found the rear brakes were not working at the time of the crash.

Judge McGrath said Keogh knew the altered brakes meant the car took longer to slow down. Keogh had intended to restore the vehicle but had not done so. The judge said Keogh had put Mr Power, Mr Power’s brother and his own partner, who were also in the car, at risk.

Friends and family of Mr Power filled the court, with some seated in the jury box. They wore shirts depicting the young man as his mother, Holly Power, delivered a victim impact statement. “No matter how much we wish, beg, or pray, nothing will bring him home,” she said.

The court accepted that Keogh pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was “deeply and genuinely” sorry. A psychiatrist’s report quoted him as saying he was glad to be in jail because it gave the Power family some closure. Keogh will be disqualified from driving for three years after his release and will be eligible for parole on February 29, 2028.