Warning: this story contains distressing elements and racist language.
A federal politician for the Northern Territory has called on the NT Director of Public Prosecutions to seek special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia over the sentence of Jake Danby.
Last September, the 25-year-old was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, including five months home detention, after hitting two Aboriginal pedestrians with his car outside a Darwin shopping centre in June 2024.
39-year-old Kunwinjku man, Mr Whitehurst, was thrown several meters and later died from his injuries, while another man was left seriously injured.
Shortly after the sentence was handed down, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed an appeal on the grounds that the sentence was "manifestly inadequate".
Last month the NT Court of Criminal Appeal granted the appeal and increased Danby's home detention period from five months to two years under an extended community corrections order.
Speaking in the House of Representatives earlier this week, Labor MP Luke Gosling called for further action over the sentence.
"This case raises serious issues that should be taken up by the NT DPP ... in seeking special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia," the Member for Solomon said.
“Territorians expect accountability, and where confidence is shaken every lawful avenue of appeal should be pursued,” he said.
'Racist' text messages deemed of 'limited relevance' to sentencing
Danby plead guilty to the charges of driving a vehicle involved in an incident that resulted in the death of a person, failing to stop the vehicle at the scene of the incident, and failing to notify police.
The hit-and-run offence does not involve criminal liability for causing the death of the person.
The NT Supreme Court has previously heard that after Danby fled the scene he labelled the incident a "two for one combo", calling the victims "dogs" and "oxygen thieves" in text messages to friends.
In one text Danby said, "it was pretty funny watching [them] roll around on the road after going over my bonnet and through my windscreen".
"Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to claim his Centrelink for taking out another oxygen thief," another of Danby's text messages read.
The NT Court of Criminal Appeal — represented by Chief Justice Michael Grant, Justice Jenny Blokland and Justice Meredith Day Huntingford — said the text messages did not form part of the offending.
"While such a feature is aggravating, it did not form part of the offending conduct but rather was post-offence conduct of some, but limited, relevance to sentencing," the court said.
The court further explained that due to the collision with the victims being deemed "unavoidable" there was "no opportunity for the formation of a racist motive for the collision".
Drug testing behind motive to flee
While judges acknowledged Danby's motivation for fleeing the scene was in part due to the "racist sentiments" contained in the text messages, they concluded it was more likely to avoid being tested for drugs and losing his licence.
"I couldn't stop ... I'd rather get done for hit n run then [sic] stay and get tested," Danby said in a text message the evening of the incident.
Danby handed himself in to police the following day.
The Court heard he was not required to submit to a breath test or tested for illicit substances, as the four-hour statutory period in which police may require a driver to undergo such tests had expired.
When accepting the appeal, judges found a lengthier period of imprisonment was appropriate, but given the 25-year-old's "youth" and "lack of prior convictions" it should be served as a community corrections order with a longer period of home detention.
The sentence was further reduced by 25 per cent on account of the early plea.
The appeal saw Mr Danby's original sentence of five months home detention extended to two years, backdated to 15 September 2025.
Chance of High Court appeal
The NT Director of Public Prosecutions is yet to say whether or not a further appeal is being considered.
“The DPP is considering the Court of Criminal Appeal’s decision in relation to the Jake Danby matter," a spokesperson told NITV in a statement.
Last month, when Danby's appeal sentence was handed down, the family of the victim who died told NITV they would continue their pursuit for justice.
"It's like I failed for not having justice. My heart saying there was no one to help me, but I'm trying to fight," the victim's sister Toni Whitehurst told NITV.
In a statement the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) said it is "assisting the family to explore further options for seeking appropriate justice".
