Mingen He: Fugitive dangerous driver jailed for killing paramedic Pauline Smith

A man who fled interstate days before he was due to learn his fate for killing an off-duty paramedic risks deportation once he is released from prison.

Mingen He was on bail when he failed to appear before Victoria’s County Court for his sentencing on Thursday.

He was arrested in Queensland and brought back to Victoria on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing the death of Pauline Smith in a May 2022 crash.

Ms Smith, a paramedic and former police officer, was on her way home from a night shift when He veered into the wrong lane on the Western Highway at the town of Great Western, in regional Victoria.

The Chinese national was sentenced to two years and four months in prison with a non-parole period of 16 months on Wednesday.

He had been driving erratically, veering left and right on the road and speeding up and slowing down while en route to work on the morning of May 20, 2022, Judge Kellie Blair said.

In the moments leading up to the collision, He had been driving about 99km/h when his car veered left off the road while navigating a curve before overcorrecting and losing control, slamming into the mother-of-three’s car.

Ms Smith died at the scene from her injuries.

“Your poor driving prior to the collision in a 100km zone, and your lack of action to pull over or take remedial action increases the gravity of your offending,” Judge Blair said.

“I do not consider this to be a case of momentary inattention, but a serious example of the offence of dangerous driving causing death.”

He was administered drug and alcohol tests at the scene which returned negative.

Defence lawyer Amit Malik on Wednesday said He had left Victoria and travelled to Queensland to work as a plasterer for four to five months so he could leave money for his family before returning to hand himself in and serving his jail sentence.

The crown prosecutor said He’s decision to abscond was indicative of an attempt to frustrate rather than facilitate the course of justice.

“While the offender’s motivations were altruistic in terms of financially supporting his family, it must be considered that he had been arraigned, told that a term of imprisonment is inevitable and then he absconds,” the prosecutor said.

He believed he could make upwards of $40,000 and was arrested by police in a share house where officers found his brother-in-law’s working permit in his possession, the defence said.

“He intended to return to Victoria after undertaking work in Queensland to provide a safety net for his family and it wasn’t an attempt to avoid a prison term,” Mr Malik said.

Judge Blair acknowledged He’s decision to abscond exacerbated the grief felt by Ms Smith’s family who had to turn up to court twice.

“The death of Pauline Smith has caused deep and profound grief to her family and all those who knew and loved her,” she said.

“By effectively running away from your responsibilities to the court, it lessens the weight I can give to your acceptance of responsibility for your wrongdoing and therefore the true level of your remorse.”

The court was told on his initial sentencing date that He’s wife reported him missing on November 25 after not seeing him for two days.

He had surrendered his passport and was supposed to report to police three times a week but had not done so in the week he went missing, prosecutors said at the time.

Having already spent 65 days in pre-sentence detention, the judge acknowledged a doctor’s opinion that He suffers from depression and anxiety which would likely be exacerbated in prison.

The 25-year-old who has been in Australia since 2018 faces deportation once he is released and a $10,000 surety for his bail was forfeited due to his disappearance.