US baseballer Timothy Cusick avoids jail over LSD-fuelled carjacking in Adelaide
An American baseballer who carjacked a medical researcher while in the midst of a "bad trip" has been spared jail.
Timothy William Cusick, of San Francisco, pushed Dr Austen Chen out of his car on North Terrace about 1.50am on March 20, before crashing the vehicle into a tree at nearby Richmond.
Dr Chen was on his way to work to monitor animal testing of a newly-developed vaccine and said the incident has "profoundly" affected him.
An American baseballer who carjacked a medical researcher while in the midst of a "bad trip" has been spared jail. Supplied
Cusick, 28, had been in Adelaide playing baseball for Henley and Grange Baseball Club at the time and has been required to remain in Australia since his arrest.
On the night of the carjacking, he had met up with a woman, drunk whisky and taken LSD.
Defence lawyers said he was in the midst of a "bad trip" at the time of the incident, and was trying to get to the airport to return to America because he believed he was being chased and his life was under threat.
Timothy William Cusick, of San Francisco, pushed Dr Austen Chen out of his car on North Terrace about 1.50am on March 20, before crashing the vehicle into a tree at nearby Richmond. Supplied
District Court Judge Joanne Tracey on Friday handed him a wholly-suspended sentence of three years, one month, and ordered he pay more than $6500 in compensation.
"It was fortunate there were not more serious consequences on the night," she said.
Cusick had pleaded guilty to committing theft using force and driving at a dangerous speed.
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