Fatal crash driver’s fate with jury

A JURY has started deliberating in the case of a Geelong man charged over a crash that resulted in his father being thrown to his death.

Brandon Gliddon, 22, was driving at high speeds before rear-ending another car on Thompson Rd, North Geelong, in December 2019.

The accused man’s father, Michael Gliddon, was killed in the collision after he had been holding on to the outside of the car driven by his son. Another driver also sustained injuries in the crash.

Mr Gliddon (pictured) is charged with culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury.

His case is being held as a special hearing in the Supreme Court after he was deemed unfit to stand trial.

In a closing address on Friday, prosecutor Neill Hutton urged jurors to find Mr Gliddon had committed the offences.

He argued the man’s driving on the night of the collision was negligent, noting he drove through two red lights and at speeds of up to 141km/h while his father clung to the vehicle.

“A reasonable person in the accused’s situation would have realised his or her conduct would have created a high risk of death or serious injury,” Mr Hutton said.

During the hearing, which started earlier this week, the court has heard the incident started several kilometres away in Hamlyn Heights when Mr Gliddon left his father’s home in an agitated state.

Jurors have been told he drove away in his stepmother’s car as his father jumped on the bonnet and yelled for him to stop.

The man continued driving with his father hanging on, with one witness reporting he could hear Michael Gliddon screaming soon before the crash.

Defence barrister Jarrod Williams described the incident as “terrible” and said it was accepted his client’s driving was dangerous but argued Mr Gliddon’s actions did not involve gross negligence, which was needed to prove the culpable driving charge.

Mr Williams also urged jurors to find that the injuries sustained by the other driver involved in the collision did not meet the legal definition of “serious”.

The case continues.