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A fishing trip that ended with the death of a 21-year-old man who fell from the roof of a car has also resulted in jail time for his friend who was behind the wheel.
Maxwell Darley Syme was highly intoxicated after a day-drinking session with friends in Guilderton in the days before Christmas in 2021.
Maxwell Darley Syme, pictured with his mum Jody, died during a camping trip with mates four and a half years ago.Credit: Facebook
He and three friends, including Ben Adey-McCartney, also 21, had been fishing that morning before they started drinking at the Guilderton Holiday Park.
They later decided to head to the local country club, but Syme was refused alcohol because of his level of intoxication. Shortly after, he climbed onto the roof of Adey-McCartney’s Nissan Patrol while it was driven “at speed” back to the caravan park.
That decision was on Tuesday labelled “a serious error of judgement” during Adey-McCartney’s sentencing in the Supreme Court of WA.
Syme fell from the roof of the car when Adey-McCartney swerved to avoid hitting a parked car while travelling between 50-60km/h, the court was told.
He was airlifted to hospital, having suffered a traumatic bain injury, and underwent multiple surgeries but had his life support machine turned off almost a month later.
On Tuesday, the court was told Adey-McCartney lied to police and a triple-zero operator about the real reason Syme was injured, claiming that he jumped out of the moving car.
However, an investigation revealed members of the public had seen Syme on the roof of the vehicle on the night of the incident.
Adey-McCartney was initially charged with manslaughter, but later pleaded guilty to the downgraded charge of dangerous driving causing death. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to three years in prison over the incident.
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Justice Natalie Whitby said she needed to send a message to young men that were tempted to “engage in thrill-seeking behaviour”.
“The consequences are severe and life-changing,” she said.
“What happened to Max was not an accident. It was entirely preventable. You made a choice.”
Syme’s parents watched the sentencing remotely, with prosecutor Elisabeth Noonan reading out their victim impact statements to the court.
Syme’s mother Jody wrote that the “decision to drive the car showed a complete disregard to Max’s life”, before adding that his death had left her with “permanent and devastating loss”.
She wrote of having to watch her son die as she stood by his hospital bed, and of the son she said was “funny, kind and handsome” who loved to socialise, surf and rap.
She also wrote that his death was not an accident.
“It was a direct result of the driver’s actions,” she said.
“My son’s life mattered.”
Adey-McCartney will be eligible for parole and had his driver’s licence banned for two years.
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