A man has been cleared of all criminal responsibility for a collision that led to the death of a father in Newbury, near Trentham.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hari Krishna Bommareddy, 28, was able to step out of the dock and into the body of the court on Tuesday after a judge directed a jury find him not guilty of culpable driving causing death.
The direction was given on the fourth day of a trial in which the prosecution alleged Bommareddy was fatigued and lost control of the Isuzu truck he was driving on Greendale-Trentham Road.
While the death of the deceased is another shocking example of the road trauma we all live with... I am not satisfied it would be open to you to find Mr Bommareddy guilty of the charge.
- Judge Mark Dean
The prosecution case was Bommareddy allegedly drifted to the wrong side of the road because he was tired and collided head-on with a Holden commodore sedan driven by 30-year-old John Graeme Wilson.
Wilson was killed instantly. He had a two-year-old son and fiancée at the time.
Judge Mark Dean said he was not satisfied it was open to the jury to find Bommareddy guilty of culpable driving causing death.
He said there was no evidence to establish the burden of proof for two elements of the case. That is Bommareddy was so fatigued that he failed to be in proper control of the motor vehicle and he ought to have known there was a risk of fatigue leading to a collision.
"It is not sufficient to prove he was tired or it was momentary inattention," Judge Dean said.
"Culpable driving is a very serious offence. Generally speaking, it is made out when people are affected by drugs or alcohol and driving in a reckless manner. This is not such a case.
"While the death of the deceased is another shocking example of the road trauma we all live with... I am not satisfied it would be open to you to find Mr Bommareddy guilty of the charge."
Bommareddy was 24-years-old at the time of the collision, living in Grovedale and studying at Deakin University.
He held an international drivers' licence which allowed him to drive in Victoria and was working at the time of the collision delivering bakery goods to businesses, a shift he had started at 5.35am.
Wilson was driving from his home in Fern Hill to his new job as a mechanic in Ballan at the time of the collision at 7.42am on January 4, 2018.
He had left home about 7.30am.
Bommareddy had consistently contested the charge.
"Car accidents are a common factor of our lives but do not necessarily carry a criminal penalty," Judge Dean said.
"Whatever happened is a great tragedy. These cases always are."
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.