Likely cause of footy star’s death revealed
Fatal head injuries inflicted on a promising young football player found unconscious on the side of a Gold Coast road more than a decade ago were likely caused by a collision with a car, a coroner has found.
The injuries to 20-year-old Samuel Timothy Brown were so severe that Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher said it was possible to rule out theories that he had been assaulted by a single assailant, or fallen from a height of less than three or four storeys.
Mr Brown died in hospital after he was found unconscious on the side of the Gold Coast Highway at Mermaid Beach in the early hours of November 25, 2012.
On the eve of his death, Mr Brown had gone to a friend’s birthday party before he and friend Robert Cosgrove began walking to Broadbeach to go nightclubbing.
Coroner Gallagher handed down her findings into Mr Brown’s death in the Brisbane Coroner’s Court on Thursday morning.
She said three medical experts agreed his injuries were not typical of an assault.
“It is therefore unlikely Samuel fell off a nearby fence or that Mr Cosgrove assaulted his friend,” she said.
“This leaves the possibility that Samuel’s head injury was caused by contact between Samuel and a moving vehicle.”
Mr Cosgrove has never been charged with any wrongdoing in relation to Samuel’s death.
The coroner said Mr Brown’s blood alcohol level was about four times the legal limit around the time of the incident.
“The injuries to Samuel’s left upper body, abrasions to the underside of his left arm, impact wound to the underside of his jaw and to his left cheek bone, along with the oil mark on his left upper chest suggests that his left side made contact with a vehicle while his left arm was in a raised position,” she said.
“The corresponding fractures to the right base of his skull and abrasions to his right upper back suggest that he was knocked backward on to the road surface by the contact.
“In all of the circumstances, it is possible that he collapsed or passed out on the roadway and the vehicle struck him.
“Or that he was sitting on the road facing oncoming traffic and was sideswiped by the left side of a passing vehicle.”
The coroner said police officer Senior Constable Steve
Cornish had “firmly rejected” the theory that Mr Brown was struck by the vehicle “on the basis that there is no paint or other debris from the vehicle in the wounds or on the road and no abrasions on Samuel’s body or clothing, which would indicate that he was projected along the road surface”.
“It is accepted, however, that these features are typical of contacts between people and moving vehicles, however, the absence of these features if not proof that Samuel was not hit by a vehicle,” she said.
“Further, Senior Constable Cornish’s stance appears to overlook the presence of oil on Samuel’s shirt, as well as the presence of slight abrasions on his back, of which are consistent with contact with a vehicle in the way described by the medical experts.
“I accept the expert evidence of the medical experts and find that Samuel’s death was on the balance of probabilities caused by a head injury (from a) motor vehicle collision (with a) pedestrian.”
Mr Brown’s family listened in to the long-awaited findings via videolink with the court.