Guilty: Truck driver convicted for killing cyclist

TRUCK driver Geoffrey Joseph Sleba has been found guilty of striking and killing cyclist Dr Martin Pearson.

A jury deliberated for about three and a half hours yesterday at Warwick District Court before returning their verdict.

Members of Dr Pearson’s family were in the gallery for the verdict, including his brother Dr John Pearson who said he lost his “sounding board” the day he received the devastating news.

“Martin was a vet, I’m a doctor, we spend our careers trying to undo the damage these kinds of things cause,” Dr Pearson said.

“Being left for dead on Anzac Day, a day we remember mateship and self-sacrifice, and he was left as roadkill.”

Dr Pearson said the two-week trial brought forward the reality of his brother dying alone.

“My family takes no joy in seeing anyone going to prison but the court has a responsibility to place value on a human life,” he said.

Sleba pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death before leaving the scene when the trial commenced last Tuesday, January 30.

The 47-year-old was found not guilty of the charge but they jury found him guilty of the alternate charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

The jury concluded Sleba struck and killed Dr Pearson but was unaware he had done so.

Dr Pearson was participating in a longdistance cycling event on Anzac Day 2014 when Sleba hit him with his freightlier truck on Inglewood– Millmerran Rd.

Dr Pearson’s widow, as well as a forensic pathologist, forensic investigator and sleep specialists were among the witnesses called to the stand.

The jury heard a spotlight found at the scene was the same type as those on Sleba’s truck and one of the driver’s was spotted missing on Anzac Day 2014.

A traffic counter also put Sleba’s truck on Inglewood– Millmerran Rd at 3.09pm on the day of the crash.

Crown prosecutor Sam Bain said should Sleba have been driving at 98km/hr, he would have arrived at the crash site at 3.14pm.

Evidence revealed Dr Martin Pearson’s GPS registered a dramatic event and stopped at 3.14pm.

Sleba was taken into police custody immediately after his verdict was delivered.

The Kingsthorpe man will have his case mentioned again on February 26 in Brisbane to set a date for sentencing.