John Giannasca avoids jail time over running down and killing father in Sydney cemetery
Antonio Giannasca died when he was struck by his son's car last year. (Supplied)
A Sydney man who ran over and killed his elderly father in a cemetery has avoided jail time and was instead sentenced to 150 community service hours today.
John Giannasca, 60, pleaded guilty in June to negligent driving occasioning death over the December 2014 incident.
Burwood Local Court today heard he was a loving, supportive and responsible family man and that his father had died in a case “which is both horrible and tragic”.
Giannasca and his father, Antonio Giannasca, 86, had travelled to Rookwood necropolis to visit the elder Giannasca’s wife’s grave when the accident occurred.
The 86-year-old took a tumble and was struck by his son’s car after the accelerator was accidently depressed by the younger Giannasca.
The court today heard Giannasca had cared deeply for his father and now suffers profoundly.
He was sentenced to 150 hours community service and was disqualified from driving for two years.
In a separate case Giannasca was acquitted of killing his wife, Carmel, in January 2012. She went missing from their Sydney home in 2002 and her body has never been found.
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