Driver had ‘feeling’ he hit person
AN ALLEGED hit-run driver told police he had a “feeling” that he had struck a person as he drove away from the scene of the fatal collision.
Winchelsea man Billy-Jay Glynn made the comment during a recorded police interview that was played in the Geelong County Court yesterday.
Mr Glynn, 23, is standing trial on charges of dangerous driving causing death and failing to render assistance over a crash that killed Winchelsea teenager Tyler Dean.
The 18-year-old was struck and killed as he rode a motorised pushbike along Atkins Rd, Buckley, late on October 18, 2017.
During a police interview recorded less than 12 hours after the collision, a highly emotional Mr Glynn told officers he saw a “glimpse of whiteness” in the split seconds before impact.
“I just had that feeling in my gut that it was something other than a kangaroo,” he said.
At the opening of the trial, Mr Glynn’s defence barrister Tim Sullivan told the jury his client drove away from the scene because he thought he had hit an animal.
Mr Glynn told officers in the 50-minute recorded interview that he suggested to his partner, Charlotte, that the pair should return to the point of impact in case the car had struck a person.
“The first thing I wanted to do was turn around to see if it was a person, but she (Charlotte) was just too upset,” he said.
Mr Glynn said he was “freaking out” after the crash and was “shaking on the ground” when he arrived home minutes later.
The prosecution alleges the headlights on Mr Glynn’s car were either off or too dim for Mr Dean to see them when he was struck head on.
Giving evidence yesterday, Victoria Police collision reconstruction expert Robert Hay said Mr Glynn would have had “almost no chance whatsoever” of seeing Mr Dean if his headlights were not operating.
He said Mr Dean, meanwhile, would have had ample opportunity to move out of the car’s path if the headlights were on.
“The headlights (if working) are visible for a significant distance,” Detective Sergeant Hay said.
During the police interview, Mr Glynn told officers his headlights were “pretty dull” due to issues with the vehicle’s alternator, but he was adamant they were on at the time of the collision.
“My lights have been pretty s--t lately,” he said. “But I could see fine — like, enough to drive.”
Footage from a series of CCTV cameras at Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre were also played in court, allegedly showing Mr Glynn’s vehicle leaving the carpark without lights about 25 minutes before the crash.
Earlier in the trial, Mr Glynn’s partner said the headlights were switched on after the pair left the centre.
The trial continues.