No jail over deadly error

Man’s sentence suspended after not seeing red light

A FORMER soldier from wartorn Iraq told police he thought a red light was green when he drove through an intersection, T-boned another vehicle and killed its passenger.

Hamid Sarhan, 45, was sentenced to two years jail wholly suspended, and lost his licence for the same period after the “inexplicable” crash that claimed the life of a 20-yearold man.

Sarhan, who fled

Iraq in 2012 and was granted refugee status in Australia, pleaded guilty in Southport District Court on Wednesday to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

The court heard Sarhan was travelling south along Olsen Avenue, approaching the Griffith Way intersection at Southport, when he went through a red light and crashed into a turning vehicle just before 1.30am on March 4, 2017.

It was dark and the road was wet as it had been raining lightly.

Crown prosecutor Gary Churchill said the car had three occupants, the driver and two passengers, one of whom was killed.

The other passenger suffered a series of fractures, but Sarhan was not separately charged.

The court heard the 20year-old man died from “acute asthma” caused by a head injury sustained in the crash. The court heard Sarhan was not speeding or doing anything else incorrect at the time of the crash.

Judge David Kent said the light facing Sarhan turned from green, to amber to red.

“You, for whatever reason, did not perceive this and you continued in your apparent belief that the light was green,” he said.

Mr Kent said it was difficult to determine what occurred, other than that there was a failure.

“It seems on the evidence that you either did not keep a proper look out, or were inattentive, or you were beset by a misperception … either occurring during or for the whole period of six seconds … between the lights starting to change and you seeing the white car,” he said.

The court heard the man told police he put on his brakes, and tried to turn to avoid the collision.

The court heard Sarhan had a disadvantaged background and had fought in the Iraq conflict between 1995 to 2012. In that time he suffered a serious gunshot wound, and was subject to an ambush type attack.

Defence barrister David Funch said his client was suffering from PTSD, which had been exacerbated by the crash.

He said Sarhan was remorseful.