Latest news with #culpableDriving
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Footy great's 'gut-wrenching' act straight after he killed the 'love of his life' in horror crash when he was more than four times over the drink-drive limit
Former Geelong player Ray Card pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of culpable driving causing the death of his wife, Amanda McDonald, during a car accident following a wedding in Lara on Saturday, November 16, 2024. The County Court of Victoria heard that Card, 68, had a blood alcohol reading of 0.226 following the crash. Card had also pleaded guilty to a second charge of causing serious injury to a 19-year-old woman, who had been in a separate car travelling in the other direction at the time the incident occurred. The court heard that Card and McDonald, who was described as the 'love of his life', had been drinking before leaving the wedding to drive home in the former footballer's Ford Ranger. The pair had stopped at a restaurant before driving onto the Ring Road heading towards Bacchus Marsh Road. They went around a bend and saw headlights coming towards them, with Card braking before swerving right across the road into the opposite lane. Both cars collided on their passenger sides, and McDonald was killed in the crash. Card (pictured) also pleaded guilty to a second charge of causing serious injury to a 19-year-old woman, who had to be airlifted to hospital The 19-year-old woman, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the other car, a BWM, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital and later underwent multiple surgeries. On Monday, Card's barrister, Geoff Steward, also told the court that the body camera footage captured following the accident showed the former AFL player's 'Gut-wrenching, life-changing, grief-stricken remorse'. 'It's hard to watch, his despair, his grief,' Steward said. He then pointed to how Card's immediate concern was for his wife and not himself. The former Geelong player had also shown his remorse to the 19-year-old woman who was injured in the crash, writing her a letter to apologise. He had also asked for his own bail to be revoked. McDonald's family had also been forgiving of Card, with Steward calling their statement an 'extraordinary' display of support. Steward noted one of McDonald's daughters said that Card 'always will be a part of this family.' In total, 14 character references were given by the defence. Former Geelong captain Damien Bourke was among those who appeared in court. Bourke said: 'Ray's always been one to give himself, rather than take anything.' Crown Prosecutor Jordan Johnson also read victim impact statements to the court. In one statement, the parents of the 19-year-old, who was airlifted to hospital following the incident, expressed their terror after finding out about the crash and had driven to the site of the incident, before heading to the Geelong hospital and then The Alfred, searching for their daughter. They added that she had suffered 'terrible stress' during her long and slow recovery. The woman has suffered from PTSD as a result and had spent her 20th birthday, Christmas and New Year in a wheelchair. She has also suffered from concussion symptoms and pain. 'It breaks my heart to see her suffer like this,' her mother wrote. Card made 110 appearances for Geelong between 1977 and 1987.
ABC News
01-07-2025
- ABC News
Peter Agius faces court over crash that killed Glengarry father Adam Sutton
A Victorian court has been told a driver who caused a collision that killed a young father in Gippsland in 2023 was using his phone to send Snapchat messages while behind the wheel. Livestock agent Adam Sutton, 35, had just collected his son Darcy from his first day of school when they were involved in a car crash at the intersection of Traralgon-Maffra and Farmers roads in Glengarry on January 31, 2023. Mr Sutton died at the scene and the six-year-old was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital with critical injuries. On March 24 Peter Agius, 23, was found guilty of culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury. In her sentencing submissions on Tuesday prosecutor Sarah Thomas told the Melbourne County Court that Agius continued to deny the gross negligence he had been proven guilty of. She told the court there was evidence that he participated in 85 Snapchat messages during a journey of about 15 minutes prior to the crash on the country road. Ms Thomas said Agius admitted his offending was dangerous, but denied it was "criminally negligent". "He persists his driving wasn't impacted from his mobile phone use, said his phone was in his pocket," she said. Agius's defence lawyer told the court her client suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the crash, was remorseful for his actions and accepted that the collision had a devastating impact on many people. She said Agius made door handles while in custody at Fulham Prison, was undertaking a welding course and was a good worker. Judge Kevin Doyle said he would consider Agius's personal circumstances. "This was phone use to an extent a jury found it criminally negligent," Judge Doyle said. In a victim impact statement read to the court at a previous hearing, Mr Sutton's mother, Leanne Sutton, said no parent should ever have to endure losing a child, which had been a "living nightmare". She told the court she was yet to read and respond to the flowers and tributes she received. "I'm lost how to adequately convey the death or trauma," Ms Sutton said. She said Mr Sutton was "widely liked", incredibly kind and had a generous nature. "He had such a sparkle in his blue eyes," Ms Sutton said. Mr Sutton's father, Ray Sutton, said his family's lives were changed forever after his son's death. Mr Sutton's brother, Dean, said in his victim impact statement that he was unable to process the loss until the viewing before the funeral and that family gatherings always highlighted the loss of his sibling. "I will always live with questions," he said. Agius has been remanded in custody and is expected to return to court for sentencing on July 14.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- ABC News
Teenager sentenced over crash on Barton Highway that killed two other teens
Family members of two teenagers killed in a dramatic crash on the Barton Highway last year have wept in the ACT Supreme Court today as the driver was sentenced to more than five years' jail. Warning: This story contains confronting images. The boy, who was 14 at the time, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death over the crash. A 19-year-old man died soon after the crash and another 14-year-old died in hospital eight months later. Both were passengers in the stolen car. Justice David Mossop said the boy had stolen the spare keys to a car in Chisholm and returned later with the 19-year-old victim to take the vehicle. The court had earlier heard he had never driven before. Later that night the car collided with a ute as the offender ran a red light on the Barton Highway. Justice Mossop said the passenger side of the car was crushed, leaving two of those in the car catastrophically injured. In the immediate aftermath witnesses who stopped said a fourth boy in the car was hysterical, and the offender was telling people: "It's my fault I've killed my best mate". "Arrest me I f****d up," he told police. It took authorities 30 minutes to remove the 19-year-old from the wreckage, with the other 14-year-old left lying on the ground after he'd been pulled from the car. Justice Mossop said the 15-year-old's victim impact statements "made for difficult listening". He noted particularly the devastating impact on the mother of the 19-year-old. Justice Mossop said for the other family the grief was not immediate, but spread out over many months as the younger boy fought for life in a Sydney hospital. In a letter to the court the driver apologised for what happened. Justice Mossop said he accepted he regretted what he did, but it wasn't clear if that regret would lead to consequences. As part of the case the court heard submissions from the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Children's Commissioner, about the boy's severely disadvantaged background. Justice Mossop said it was a difficult sentencing exercise which pulled in two directions, one of which was to recognise the seriousness of the crime while considering the immaturity and difficult circumstances of the offender. He has sentenced the boy to five years and three months in jail, to be suspended after two years, with a good behaviour order to run for the rest of the sentence, to allow the boy time to demonstrate he had changed. With time served that means the boy could be free in September next year.
