Prosecutors will appeal a “manifestly inadequate” prison term handed to a man who killed five people and a dog in one of Victoria’s deadliest crashes.
Christopher Joannidis, who was warned by police about the dangerous roads in Strathmerton, 250km north of Melbourne, minutes before the crash, was jailed in the County Court for five-and-a-half years in January.
He could walk free on parole in less than three years.
On April 20, 2023, Joannidis was pulled over by police, who issued him a speeding ticket for travelling at 118km/h in a 100km/h zone.
The officers also warned him: “We’ve had nine killed on it in the last 18 months, basically because people don’t see give way and stop signs.”
Joannidis drove off, crossed over three sets of rumble strips and ignored give way signs as he drove onto the Murray Valley Highway from Labuan Road without stopping.
His Mercedes Benz sedan crashed into a Nissan Navara ute with five people and a dog inside, pushing it into the path of a truck towing two trailers of milk.
Ute driver Deborah Markey, 62, her dog Sophie and four farm workers from Taiwan and Hong Kong staying at her home – Zhi-Yao Chen, Pin-Yu Wang, Wai Yan Lam and Hsin-Yu Chen – all died instantly.
Joannidis pleaded guilty to five counts of dangerous driving causing death and was jailed on January 23 for up to five-and-a-half-years.
The Office of Public Prosecutions at the time said the sentence would be reviewed as a matter of course and confirmed today they were appealing it.
“I confirm that the Director of Public Prosecutions is appealing the sentence handed down to Christopher Joannidis on the basis that it is manifestly inadequate,” a spokesperson told AAP.
