"Absolutely Shattered" - The trial of Nathan White for the death of Patrick Bell continues

Nathan White, 36, of Brown Hill is standing trial facing charges of culpable driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Related Content:

The triple zero emergency call made by White immediately following the accident was played to the court bringing the family of deceased teenager Patrick Bell, as well as the accused, to tears. 

In the recording, White can be heard asking the phone operator “what do I do?” and saying “I tried to dodge him”, “he was in the middle of the road” and “I’m so sorry guys.”

The court heard from the first police responders to the crash Senior Constable Adam Barnes and Senior Constable Ryan Newman that the accused allegedly returned positive blood alcohol tests.  

The two policeman told the court that White had a blood alcohol reading of 0.086 following a roadside blood alcohol breath test but returned a reading of 0.101 a short time later at the Ballarat Police Station. 

A recorded interview with White was shown to the court in which the accused is interviewed by Senior Constable Newman 

During the interview, White can be heard recounting the events leading up to the crash and asking after the welfare of the boy he allegedly hit with his car. 

“I am absolutely shattered,” White said during the interview. 

“All I can think about is that boy in the ambulance. It’s not my fault he was in the middle of the road but I still hit him.”

Patrick Bell died at hospital as a result of his injuries at about 2.25am on Tuesday, 30 June 2015, while White was in police custody.  

In a later interview conducted by Leading Senior Constable Daniel Sycz of the Major Collision Investigation Unit, White is visibly upset and retells the events of the night choking back tears. 

“It was a stupid thing to do, I didn’t think I was much over the speed limit, maybe five km/h or something,” he said during the interview. 

“There is no excuse, it was a stupid thing to do.”

During cross-examination of Nick Brickley from Victoria Police's Mechanical Inspections Team, defence barrister Anthony Lavery argued the condition of the accused’s car tyre were a factor in the crash. 

“I noted the tread wear and generally there are three parts of the tyre we take into account, the middle and the two outer edges,” Mr Brickley said. 

“With tyre deflation, the sides bulge and edges wear more but in this case the wear was even which tells me the tyre was inflated properly.”

During his closing statement, Crown Prosecutor Patrick Bourke reminded the jury that to convict White of culpable driving causing death, they need to agree he was grossly negligent while behind the wheel. 

Mr Bourke pointed to inconsistencies in the claims made by the accused and evidence from expert witnesses to weaken the argument of the defence and claim that White was grossly negligent. 

“There are clearly issues of speed, alcohol, and how Mr White reacted seeing Mr Bell walking across the road,” Mr Bourke said. 

“[Collision re-creationist] Dr Mehegan told us ultimately when the accused lost control of his car he was travelling 96 km/h.”

“We need to be clear, Dr Mehegan told us using the measurable evidence left on the road, the skid marks, the accused hit Mr Bell at 71 km/h on the back driver’s side corner of the car.”

Mr Bourke claimed White had shown a disregard for the duty of care he owned to other road users when he decided to drive his car that night. 

“Clearly, he was totally out of control of his car...this caused Mr Bells death,” he said. 

“Yes, he attempted to avoid him but he didn’t because of the speed he was traveling and his deficient skills due to the alcohol he has consumed.”

Defence barrister Anthony Lavery will deliver his closing statement on Tuesday, September 19.