Daily London
Shaun Baensch’s girlfriend told him “don’t be an idiot, just keep driving” as he followed an e-scooter rider on his way home.
After Baensch’s release from prison for an armed robbery, he heard rumours about Bryce Trower and his girlfriend being in a relationship.
Filled with jealous rage, on December 11, 2023, he drove into Trower, who flew off his Segway Ninebot e-scooter and hit the ute’s windscreen.
Trower was thrown seven metres into the air before landing on the road, and Baensch drove off leaving the 31-year-old for dead.
Nearby residents tried to save Trower, but he died at the scene, on Forster Street in the Geelong suburb of Norlane.
Baensch avoided apprehension for the killing for several months after taking what a judge today labelled as “calculated steps” to conceal his involvement.
This included removing parts of the ute the day after and then getting a friend to store the vehicle at their home.
He also lied to police, claiming Trower had fallen in front of his vehicle, and at one point joked to an associate about having “done a Bryce” when he fell off a scooter.
“All this behaviour post the offence must be seen as having been motivated by self-preservation,” Supreme Court Justice Peter Kidd told Baensch as he sentenced him.
“It showed complete disregard for Mr Trower’s welfare.”
Baensch, who last year pleaded guilty to manslaughter and failure to stop over the fatal hit-and-run, was arrested over Trower’s death in May 2024.
He claimed he had intended to knock Trower off the scooter, but not kill him, after being “driven crazy” by rumours about him and his girlfriend.
“I was just trying to nudge him, and I didn’t go to plan,” he told police.
Justice Kidd found Baensch’s manslaughter was a very serious example of the offence as it was not an accident and he had deliberately hit Trower.
“Collisions involving motor vehicles and pedestrians, or riders, are often referred to as accidents, the collision with Mr Trower was no accident,” he said.
“Your unlawful act, deliberately striking Mr Trower with your motor vehicle, was an extremely dangerous act.”
He sentenced Baensch to a maximum of 10 years and six months in prison, and ordered he spend seven years behind bars before he will be eligible for parole.
Baensch has already served one year and eight months of his sentence.
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