Less than three weeks after he left a cyclist for dead, Peter Koutsogiannakis caused another serious accident in Victoria.
On January 23, 2020, the driver of a stolen Mazda tried to bypass a line of cars lined up at a train gate.
The police tried to stop him, but he quickly walked to the wrong side of the road and fled.
Koutsogiannakis then entered the bus lane at a red light and collided with the Toyota as they were turning right before crashing into a pole.
He then fled the scene.
Koutsogiannakis was driving through a red light and hit cyclist Makaro Manapouri, 58, as he was heading to work in Hampton Park on January 6, 2022.
Manapouri was thrown 45 metres and his bike was found crushed and folded in half.
The judge earlier said Koutsogiannakis left him “like an animal trampled on the road” to die, after driving off and setting fire to the stolen car used in the accident.
“You have shown that you have a sense of entitlement and no moral qualms when it comes to the safety of others on the road,” Judge Hogan said.
“Your horrific prior driving record and your failure to learn from repeated violations… made it only a matter of time before you killed someone.”
Judge Hogan said dangerous driving had “become a way of life” for him and his decade-long criminal record showed he had “no regard” for the rules of the road and the safety of others.
“You present yourself as a 30-year-old who lives a self-indulgent, lawless lifestyle, and you are a repeated threat to the community.”
He was sentenced to up to seven years and ten months in prison.
He must serve five years and three months before he is eligible for parole, and has already spent more than a year behind bars.
Judge Hogan said he felt no remorse for the crime, which he denies despite surrendering himself to police.
Koutsogiannakis’ lawyer contacted police after photos of him running after setting a car on fire were released to the media.
“I couldn’t live with myself,” he told investigators before being questioned.
But he fought the charges during the trial, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity.
In June, a jury convicted him of reckless driving causing death, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, and failure to render aid to a dying Manapouri.
Koutsogiannakis remained silent throughout the hearing, and his supporters in court cried as he was sentenced.
