Family of Jamie Stomilovic killed in Balliang crash speak in court

A man who failed to give way on a country road near Ballan, resulting in a fatal two-car crash, has been given a prison sentence in the County Court.

Shaun Duggan, 46, was led away from the dock at Ballarat on Friday to serve an eight month prison sentence for his involvement in the 2021 collision.

It follows an earlier plea hearing on Thursday, which saw victim impact statements from the deceased man's, Jamie Stomilovic, family about the enduring psychological impact his death had on them.

Mr Stomilovic was killed when Duggan's Nissan Navara collided with his Toyota Camry at about 6am on November 29, 2021.

Family members of both Duggan and Stomilovic were in tears as the sentence was read out by Judge John Smallwood.

The judge said the incident was a momentary mistake which had "devastating consequences".

"The error of decision was of a minor nature, causing catastrophic results," Judge Smallwood said.

"The consequences for you have been dreadful, the consequences for Jamie's family have been utterly devastating."

Duggan was sentenced to eight months in prison and had his licence cancelled and disqualified for 18 months.

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The family of a man killed in a 2021 car accident have told of the grief, anger and trauma they are experiencing following the tragic loss.

Shaun Duggan, 46, pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death in the County Court for a collision which claimed the life of 28-year-old Jamie Stomilovic.

The victim was driving to work in Geelong on the morning of November 29, 2021, when he was killed at the intersection of Reddens Road and Bacchus Marsh-Balliang Road in Balliang.

A series of Mr Stomilovic's friends and family told the court how their lives had been damaged by the devastating crash.

The victim's mother said before the incident she had a healthy life which included shopping, trips to the gym and socialising at cafes, but she had since become "zombie-like."

She said she now barely left the house and struggled with the smallest tasks, and is on five different medications to treat anxiety, PTSD, depression and panic attacks.

"There are no amount of words which can describe the loss of my baby boy Jamie," she said.

"I feel I will never be happy and I don't deserve to be happy if he's not here to enjoy his life.

"Everyone's life goes on but mine feels like it stopped on November 29 when his heart stopped beating."

One of Stomilovic's brothers told the court he couldn't put into words how dreadful it was to tell his mum that her son had died.

"I still find it frightening to pick up the phone and make a call, be it for work or personal," he said.

He said driving to work was a peaceful activity for him, but since his brother's death, he had found it difficult to get behind the wheel and was hyper-stressed on the road.

"My now wife has lost the opportunity to develop a relationship with Jamie," he said.

"One day we will have children and they will miss the opportunity to meet one of their uncles.

"When times were tough he was always there for me and I now need to learn to live without him."

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Judge John Smallwood said the incident was a "dreadful" situation, from which he believed the accused would never recover from.

The case was adjourned until Friday morning for sentencing, but Judge Smallwood said he thought a custodial sentence would be "inevitable."

Duggan's lawyer said he was incredibly remorseful for what happened.

"If there is one thing I can say on behalf of Mr Duggan to the family is that he will never be able to move on from this or forgive himself," she said.

"But, he hopes if he goes to prison it will provide some comfort for the family."

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