Agony turned to anger
CHARLENE Christensen’s sympathy for the driver who killed her father quickly disappeared when she learned the man was actively dodging responsibility for his actions.
Fighting back tears, Gordon Ibbs’s only child delivered a heart-rending victim impact statement in the Geelong County Court yesterday.
She spoke about the loving man her father was, the trauma of his death two years ago, its impact on her family and her mixed emotions towards his killer Bradley Azzopardi and his family.
Mrs Christensen said those feelings became more complex in November 2015 when Mr Azzopardi was arrested, and she realised his mother was her former work colleague.
Mrs Christensen also spoke about the pain caused by the protracted legal process to bring the reluctant Azzopardi to justice, and her determination that her dad’s legacy focus on his love of bikes, fun and family, not his tragic death.
“Gordon Ibbs was not just another case ... not the cyclist who was killed. He was a person, a good kind-hearted person. He was my dad,” she said.
Despite her immediate grief on the day of her father’s death, Mrs Christensen said she spared a thought for the unknown driver.
“I remember thinking ‘Oh, that poor person. They must have been absolutely horrified at what they had done, panicked and, in shock left the scene’,” she recalled.
But the discovery of the burnt-out crash car just two days later changed that.
“It became apparent to me the person who hit my father was deliberately trying to evade police and all responsibility. A sickening thought was this person did not care at all,” she said.
“Up to this point I did have some sympathy for the driver — but not any more.
“I remember so many times thinking to myself ‘if only this person would come forward and end our pain. It felt like I was continually being punished ... I felt so tormented.”
The burden of autopsy and funeral arrangements, media attention and the need to take over her dad’s job as carer for her mother, Margaret, weighed heavily on Mrs Christensen in the following months.
And then, shortly after her father was supposed to celebrate his 78th birthday, Bradley Azzopardi was arrested.
“I recognised the name Az- zopardi, and I felt an awful sinking feeling,” Mrs Christensen said.
Police confirmed the suspect was the son of her former colleague Debbie Azzopardi.
Mrs Christensen said their courtroom encounters were “uneasy and awkward”, strained by Bradley’s continued efforts to contest charges.
“I found it hard that she chose to remain silent. I understood that a parent wants to protect their child, but surely there comes a time when you say ‘enough is enough; you’re an adult, you need to be re- sponsible for your actions and I’m not going to protect you any more,” she said. “To me, her silence condoned his actions."
The courtroom sagas took a sharp turn last month, when Bradley Azzopardi finally agreed to plead guilty.
“My initial feelings regarding his plea of guilt made me angry. For the last two years my family has gone through emotional hell, and now, after two years he wanted to plead guilty. Why did he not plead guilty earlier,” Mrs Christensen said.