People gather outside the Kalgoorlie Courthouse to hear the verdict. Credit:ABC Goldfields-Esperance He will be eligible for parole in February after his sentence was backdated from August last year, having been remanded in custody since then. The man had told police he was chasing Elijah Doughty "too close" but didn't mean to drive over him, the court heard during the trial. He was was charged last year with manslaughter over the death in Boulder, near Kalgoorlie.

Elijah's death sparked race riots in Kalgoorlie, with Indigenous supporters carrying signs calling for 'justice' and with banners reading 'the lives of our kids matter'. A violent riot erupted outside the Kalgoorlie courthouse when the accused man was first due to face court, with police officers injured. On Friday, people waiting to hear the verdict outside the Perth court reacted with anger at the decision. "We are human beings too," one man shouted. "Elijah was a young boy! Your laws need to be changed!"

There was a big police presence at the court as the verdict was handed down. The Supreme Court had heard on Monday the man saw the boy riding one of two motorbikes that had been stolen from his property a day earlier, gave chase on a wet and uneven dirt track, and admitted he was "too close" when the teenager suddenly turned in front of his ute. The boy tumbled under the car after the impact and died instantly from severe injuries to his neck, chest, pelvis and right leg, and also suffered a fractured skull and bruised lungs. Chief Justice Wayne Martin described the injuries Elijah suffered as "horrendous" and how the crime had had a devastating impact on his mother. "I have no doubt the death of her son at the tender age of 14 has had a devastating affect on her and her family," he said.

"It will have profound ramifications for the family indefinitely." Justice Martin added there were some mitigating factors in sentencing the man, including the fact he was remorseful, entered an early guilty plea, his previous good character and clean criminal record. "Your culpability lies in driving a very large and heavy vehicle at a speed and in a terrain that would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to avoid the rider in the event they did something unexpected," he said. "This has had profound consequences for you and your family. I have no reason to believe you will commit an offence again and your prospects of rehabilitation are excellent." Defence counsel Seamus Rafferty had told the court his client was guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death but not manslaughter.

He said the man had made a split-second decision that he would always regret and had gone to the area to look for his bikes after police had told him it was a "dumping ground". "First of all, because his driving ultimately led to the death of a 14-year-old boy," he said. "And secondly, for the grief and sorrow that has caused his family and the wider community. Loading "There is a deep sense of remorse.

"It was not premeditated...it was simply an appalling, ill conceived, spur of the moment decision."