SA man who used ‘vehicle as a weapon’ sentenced over fatal crash

A 24-year-old man who chased down and deliberately crashed into another car multiple times, killing a soon-to-be father, will spend at least 11 years behind bars.

Michael Charles Henley pleaded guilty to manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident after deliberately crashing into a car, in which 20-year-old Nicholas Darling was a passenger, at Morphett Vale, in Adelaide’s south, in July 2021.

Mr Darling’s daughter was born five months after his death.

Appearing at the Supreme Court for sentencing on Thursday, Henley stood unmoved as he was handed a head sentence of 13 years and six months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 11 years, starting from when he was initially arrested in July 2021.

Justice Sandi McDonald said Henley’s offending was the product of a “slow-burning rage” over a romantic relationship crossover involving the person driving the car that Mr Darling was a passenger in.

Justice McDonald said after the feuding friendship groups had exchanged damage to each other’s vehicles, Henley pursued the pair in a car, speeding through various streets before catching them when their ute broke down on Flaxmill Road.

The Supreme Court heard that Henley rammed the ute an estimated six times, at one time reversing into oncoming traffic to give himself an “extended run up” before later delivering the final fatal hit, which caused the ute to roll over three times.

“This was not an accident — you used your vehicle as a weapon to attack the occupants of the other car,” Justice McDonald said.

“Your response was to flee the scene, leaving them there near dead or injured.”

Justice McDonald said that Henley responded to a friend shortly after the crash saying, “I don’t really care if one of them dies.”

Justice McDonald said that Henley was also presented with an opportunity to end his “foolishness” when he lost sight of their ute, but persisted in his pursuit, ultimately leading to the death of Mr Darling who he used to call his “best friend”.

Henley, who was 22 at the time, failed to stop at the scene after the crash, instead abandoning the car in a gully and setting it alight off the Southern Expressway at Reynella.

The Morphett Vale man turned himself in three days later, on the “encouragement” of his father, and was charged with manslaughter, which was upgraded to murder in February.

The 24-year-old’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter came on the day he was set to face trial for murder in May.

He also pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.

Joshua Shawn Rossborough, who owned the car and was Henley’s passenger during the crash, was given a two-year behaviour bond for a “pathetic effort” to impede the police investigation by responding to questioning with “no comment”.

In a packed courtroom, the mother of Mr Darling’s daughter, Ruby Dayman, and Mr Darling’s father, Brian Darling, sobbed as Justice McDonald described the “devastating and profound impact” Henley’s actions had caused.

“A loss made all the worse by the fact that Mr Darling never had a chance to meet his daughter,” Justice McDonald said.

Justice McDonald told the court that Henley was a high risk of “repeated violence” and found that Mr Darling’s actions before the crash did not mitigate his conduct.

He will be eligible for parole in July 2032.