Truck Driver Cleared - Criminal Charges Dropped

• General News
• 15th July 2013

TWU member faced possible jail sentence but TWU lawyers had charges against him dropped

Another TWU Perth truck driver has been cleared of wrong doing after Slater & Gordon lawyers fought for his criminal charges against him to be dropped.

Facing a possible jail sentence, the TWU member was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death after a fatal accident in Welshpool in July last year.

Slater & Gordon criminal lawyer Elaine Arcaro said the accident happened near the intersection of Sheffield Road and McDowell Street after the truck he was driving collided with a female motorcyclist who sadly died at the scene.

“While the truck driver believed there was nothing he could have done to avoid the incident, police pushed-on with the case and filed criminal charges against him of dangerous driving occasioning death,” Ms Arcaro said.

“With a possible jail term hanging over his head, we responded immediately to his request for legal assistance and started what would become a nine-month battle against the police and prosecutors.”

Ms Arcaro said Slater & Gordon’s rigorous defence of the truck driver included an accident re-enactment by a crash expert to prove the truck driver wasn’t at fault.

“We instructed a road traffic expert to re-enact the incident – including the same truck, the same road site and similar weather conditions – to assess the actions of both the truck driver and the motorcyclist,” she said.

“Using this re-enactment, the expert discovered there was a lack of road markings and low visibility due to overgrown roadside trees and a crest leading to the intersection.

“Further to this, the analysis of CCTV footage revealed that the speed of the motorcycle just seconds before the accident was 94 kilometres-an-hour in a 60 kilometre zone.

“With this clear evidence, the expert concluded that the speeding motorcyclist was not visible to the truck driver when he made the decision to move across the intersection.”

Armed with this expert evidence, Ms Arcaro convinced police to investigate the accident further and after their own investigations, they also concluded the truck driver was not at fault.

“After the police investigation came to the same conclusions, we then persuaded the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop all charges against our client,” Ms Arcaro said.

“We knew that if this case went to court, we would be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the truck driver was not at fault.

“While our client is clearly affected by this tragic accident which he will live with for the rest of his life, he is now back on the road and looking forward to the future.

“This is a great example of how TWU lawyers at Slater & Gordon will use their expertise and extensive experience in using experts and liaising with Police and State Prosecutors to go into bat for our clients.”

For further information, TWU WA members should contact the Union office on 1800 657 477 for a referral to Slater & Gordon – your preferred union lawyers.

As a financial TWU WA member your initial consultation is free and you receive a reduced rate for the rest of your legal representation.