Speeding down his driveway and doing doughnuts in his off-road buggy during a Christmas brunch, Christopher Browne's aim was to scare his sister.
But during one last stunt in a paddock beside his Barnawartha North home in Victoria's northeast, the all terrain vehicle flipped.
His two-year-old son Lincoln was thrown from Browne's lap and fatally crushed by the rolling vehicle.
Browne, now 33, had overridden seatbelt safety features on the buggy and both he and Lincoln were unrestrained. It was also overloaded, with three people on board instead of two.
"Understandably you have suffered deep guilt and sadness which has manifested itself in severe symptoms of PTSD," County Court Judge Michael Cahill said on Thursday.
Ordinarily it's offending that would result in a prison sentence, he said.
But Browne avoided a jail term and was instead placed on a three-year community corrections order with a condition that he complete 250 hours of unpaid community work.
The builder, who owns his own business and helps to operate three others, has also been disqualified from driving for 18 months.
Browne's doctor wrote to the court asking for compassion.
"Mr Browne has already suffered enough in December 2020 as a result of the death of his child and has been genuine in persevering with this mental health recovery for the sake of others who rely on him," the doctor said.
A friend described Browne as a shadow of his former self, while his father-in-law said Browne would carry the demons of the accident for life.
Browne has built a playground next to his house in memory of his son.
He was supported in court by his wife, who Judge Cahill described as staunchly loyal, having supported Browne at every step of the court proceedings.
The couple had stillborn twin daughters before Lincoln's birth and also have another child.
A psychologist who treated Browne said the only thing keeping him going was his sense of responsibility to look after his wife and their younger child.
Judge Cahill said Browne admitted to police he had become complacent with safety when using the buggy and had been trying to scare his sister on the ride.
Browne did several doughnuts, sped up and down the driveway and returned to the paddock for a final burnout when the buggy tipped.
Judge Cahill said Browne's offending was objectively serious - both he and his son were unrestrained.
By sitting on top of the clipped-in seatbelt, Browne had overridden a safety interlock - which would have limited the speed to 25km/h.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and conduct endangering persons.
Prosecutors had called for a prison sentence.
In a similar case another father was sentenced to more than three years behind bars and an appeal on the grounds that it was manifestly excessive was refused, they argued.
Australian Associated Press
