<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A young man had his head buried in his phone, when he looked up he had </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/glengarry-child-critical-person-dead-after-horror-crash-in-victoria/789c67d2-1ef6-42f6-b7b0-af1bce3854ff" rel="" target="" title="killed a beloved father and injured his son"><span>killed a beloved father and injured his son</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Peter Agius sent 44 Snapchats while driving just 12 kilometres, at 100km/h down a busy Victorian country road.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He received 41 replies, including one 20 seconds before the deadly crash.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-warana-stabbing-entrepreneur-pays-tribute-to-husband-dead-outside-luxury-home/65278dbf-2242-4566-86bb-1dae583d2a57" target="_blank"><strong><span>Two teenagers charged with murder over deadly stabbing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His victim, Adam Sutton, had just picked his six-year-old son up from school when they were struck by Agius' vehicle in January 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sutton died at the scene, while his son was taken to hospital with critical injuries and left with a permanent brain injury.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>County Court Judge Kevin Doyle labelled Agius' offending as "extreme inattention" as he threw him behind bars for at least six years today.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/extreme-inattention-driver-sent-44-snapchats-before-fatal-crash/d567a756-455f-44e1-96e7-ab597063a550" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"A life was lost and a young child's life has been damaged by your actions," the judge told Agius, aged 23, who cried upon learning his fate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Agius had fought the two charges, of culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury, at a jury trial in regional Victoria.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He claimed to have dropped his sunglasses while driving, and looked down to pick them up, when the crash occurred.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His lawyers argued Agius should be convicted of dangerous driving causing death and serious injury, not the more serious charges.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But prosecutors argued Agius was not paying attention to the road because he was sending and receiving dozens of Snapchat messages while driving, which was grossly negligent behaviour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Analysis of Agius' phone revealed he sent and received 85 Snapchat messages while driving about 12 kilometres from his worksite to the crash scene, at the intersection of Traralgon-Maffra and Farmers roads in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/weather/vic/glengarry" rel="" target="" title="Glengarry"><span>Glengarry</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A jury ultimately convicted Agius of the culpable and negligent driving charges in April 2025.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Judge Doyle said Agius was "an accident waiting to happen" and would have seen Sutton waiting to turn right if he was paying attention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The duty of every driver is to pay proper attention to the road - you didn't do that," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Agius had a history of dangerous driving, including a fine and loss of licence for dangerous driving while being pursued by police in 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2020, he was ordered to undertake a road trauma awareness course for careless driving.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in February 2024, he was caught driving while on bail for the offending which caused Sutton's death, after he had been banned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Twice before this catastrophic collision, you had engaged in incredibly stupid driving offences," the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You should have understood the basic duties of driving from these experiences, but you did not."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sutton's loved ones told the court he was "deeply loved as a husband, father, son, brother and friend to many people", Judge Doyle said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Leanne Sutton said 1000 people attended her son's funeral, with 2000 watching online, and his death left "an enormous void" in the lives of all who knew him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His father, Ray Sutton, said the pain and distress caused by Adam's death was "indescribable" and not a day went by that he did not think about "the life sentence we've been given".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Agius was jailed for a maximum of nine years and eight months, and has served 122 days of that sentence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He will be eligible for parole after serving six years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-says-cocacola-will-use-real-sugar-in-its-us-flagship-drink-the-company-isnt-confirming-that/c4c1a407-ce6e-4900-8872-8103946ff702" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump announces Coca-Cola will change its recipe at his request</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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