Gasps and spontaneous applause have greeted a lengthy jail sentence for a road-rage killer who dragged another man beside his vehicle while running late for work.
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Young landscaper Rhyce Harding died after a confrontation with another driver who cut him off in traffic on Sydney's outskirts in June 2024.
Bradley Wayne Wilkinson was jailed for 16 years on Monday after killing his fellow ute driver and absconding.
"There is increasing public concern that every citizen should feel safe when driving in their motor vehicle," acting Judge Paul Conlon said in scathing sentencing remarks in the NSW District Court.
"The use of motor vehicles as weapons must not be tolerated and significant punishment must follow."
Wilkinson, 40, cut off Mr Harding's red ute after exiting a roundabout in Blackett, before refusing to allow the 27-year-old to merge and avoid a parked car.
"Someone's riding my ass," the younger man told a friend over the phone before stepping out of his car to approach Wilkinson's window.
Wilkinson then grabbed onto Mr Harding's hi-vis jumper, pinning him to the car, and drove 55 metres past several houses before letting go, Judge Conlon said.
Mr Harding fell to the road and under the ute's wheel as Wilkinson sped away.
He died at the scene with a tyre imprint on his jumper.
"As Mr Harding was held against the offender's vehicle, he was defenceless," the judge said.
Judge Conlon found the killer invited confrontation by stopping his vehicle and refusing to let Mr Harding pass.
"The offence of manslaughter was of a very high order and the dangerousness of the unlawful act was extreme," the judge said.
The bouncing motion of the vehicle and the sound made as it ran over the landscaper's body meant Wilkinson knew what had happened but still chose to drive off, Judge Conlon said.
Witnesses saw Mr Harding vomiting, moaning and gasping for air before he died.
As his final moments were read out in court on Monday, the victim's family shed tears and held their mouths in their hands.
They filled the public gallery of the courtroom wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Mr Harding's wolf-and-roses chest tattoo.
Wilkinson sat silently with his head bowed as he watched by audio-visual link from Bathurst prison.
He placed his head in his hands as he was handed a non-parole period of 12 years to expire on June 20, 2036.
The judge acknowledged the emotional and psychological harm the incident had caused to Mr Harding's family, noting that nothing he said could alleviate their long-lasting grief.
In handing down his sentence, he noted Wilkinson's history of violence, including assaults dating back to 2014 and three fights in custody since his arrest.
Outside court, Mr Harding's parents said their son was the glue that held the family together.
They supported the judge's sentence.
"It gives a message to anybody who does road rage and takes another life to think twice," father John Harding said.
"Road rage is not worth it."
Mother Mary Harding told reporters the legal system was waking up.
"Finally, they're giving a sentence which is deserving," she said.
"If I could have given him 50 years, I would have."
Australian Associated Press
