The appropriateness of a community correction order for negligently causing serious injury by driving necessarily diminishes as the degree of negligence and the seriousness of the injuries increase. A point will be reached at which such sentencing options cease to be capable of satisfying sentencing purposes of punishment, denunciation and deterrence.
A sentence of 3 years' imprisonment (2-year non-parole period) is within range for NCSI by driving at the lower end of the mid-range of seriousness, where a professional heavy vehicle driver with inadequate sleep and rest breaks caused life-changing injuries through a collision requiring steering input. A community correction order is not appropriate at this level of culpability. The Jiminez sleeping driver principles do not apply where the driver did not fall asleep at or immediately before the collision; all conduct leading up to and at the time of the collision remains relevant.
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