By STEFAN BRADLEY
Warning: This story deals with the distressing death of a child.
If you or anyone you know needs help, these services are available:
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
headspace: 1800 650 890
THE mother of killed Heyfield girl Olivia Stevens says her family are living their lives as “broken souls”, more than three years after her death in a buggy crash.
Heyfield dentist, and Olivia’s mother, Yana Stevens, slammed the five-year sentence given to Rosedale man Damien Gibson as a “slap in the face” and called for harsher penalties for dangerous driving in vehicles such as buggies.
“With such a serious charge of the culpable, (the sentence) should have been way harsher than what it is. Not that any justice will really ease our pain, but when you see the justice being served, it does help you with your grief,” Ms Stevens said.
“It also feels like the life of the living matters and the life of the ones who got killed doesn’t matter anymore.”
Gibson took seven children, including six-year-old Olivia on a joyride during a playdate with family friends at his Rosedale farm on September 11, 2021. He did not seek permission from the Stevens family before taking Olivia on the ride, and his actions during the drive were described in court as “gross negligence”.
Olivia was thrown from the all-terrain vehicle when it hit a rut in the ground and rolled. She was crushed under the vehicle’s roll bars and died while being flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
The other children survived.
Gibson, 36, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death, and last week was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court. He is also banned from driving for two years.
He had originally pleaded not guilty in late November 2022.
With 238 days already served, he will be eligible for parole in December 2026. The charge of culpable driving causing death carries a mandatory jail term in Victoria.
While the court case may be over, Ms Stevens detailed to the Gippsland Times the pain her family continues to go through three years later.
“We all still suffer badly. We all have nightmares every night, all of us,” Ms Stevens said.
“My five-year-old son screams his nightmares. And I still have nightmares every night. It’s very random, different things, and it’s always very dark. And I never used to suffer from this, and now every night, I wake up in a cold sweat.
“My husband suffers mentally. He’s kind of closed in his own grief. I think a lot of men just do that, and I encourage men to speak up more, because having that dark terrible thought inside you isn’t good. You need to express your pain, your grief, everything you’re dealing with.”
Judge Richard Maidment said Gibson had developed post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, major depression and adjustment disorder, but had “excellent” prospects of rehabilitation, and said his early guilty plea had demonstrated remorse. He also had no prior convictions.
“But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to imprisonment for seven years, six months with a non-parole period of five years,” Judge Maidment said.
Ms Stevens didn’t agree Gibson showed remorse, and believed he dragged the case out over a number of years.
“Right at the end, just before the trial began, he decided to plead guilty (to avoid a longer sentence),” she said.
Ms Stevens said she had a few details from Gibson about the incident that killed Olivia, with most of the information coming from the investigation.
“Olivia was dropped off to play with her school friend in the pool as it was a warm day. There was no mention about taking kids for a ride on a buggy. Our kids don’t ride motorbikes. We don’t own buggies and are not farmers,” Ms Stevens said.
“When I asked I was told they use the buggy for wood delivery and that’s it. Twenty minutes after I left to pick up my son from a birthday party, she was killed.
“So imagine dropping your child off to play, and then never seeing your child alive again and never receiving any information about what happened.
“We never felt remorse in any way in the last three years at all. There was never a statement from them, never a comment, not even a story apart from at the end, just before the plea. He says sorry and that’s it,” she said.
Gibson wrote an apology letter to the family and had offered to read it out in court in September, but following discussions with Ms Stevens, Gibson’s lawyer said they decided against it.
Ms Stevens said the details she read about Olivia’s last moments were so distressing she did not let her husband read it.
“She did not deserve that. She did not deserve any of this,” she said.
“(Gibson) was talking about how he’s got depression, anxiety and everything else now. So what he suffers with is understandable, but it was his actions which caused the event.
“What about the victim’s family? We’ve got to live with this pain, as parents for the rest of our lives and he doesn’t have to live with this pain.
“He only has to serve five years in prison… he’s going to continue his life like before.”
Ms Stevens wants harsher laws for driving dangerously on motor vehicles.
“We would like to make people aware of buggy safety and take it seriously, especially if kids are around. We would like to prevent the death of innocent children,” she said.
Ms Stevens said she wanted Olivia to be remembered as a happy and sassy girl who was so full of life.
“She taught me to be a better person. She told me not to judge others,” she said.
“She was bigger than life and people loved being around her. She made them feel good about themselves.”
This includes Olivia’s classmates, who miss their beloved friend.
A statue of one of Olivia’s favourite animals, a pink flamingo, will soon be unveiled at Gippsland Grammar St Anne’s Campus in Sale.
