HIS FATAL MISTAKE
Ravenshoe blast driver will never face trial
THE horrific gas explosion that killed two people and injured 19 when a ute crashed into the Serves You Right Cafe changed the small Tableland town of Ravenshoe forever.
Now the final chapter has been closed with the man at the centre of the tragedy, driver Brian Scutt, (left), never to face trial over the crash which killed Nicole Dempsey and Margaret Clark (right).
A hearing of the Queensland Mental Health Court has found Mr Scutt, 63, should never have been behind the wheel due to untreated epilepsy and was suffering from paranoid delusions.
THE man who crashed into a Ravenshoe cafe causing an explosion that killed two people and injured 19, was suffering from paranoid delusions and had been told by multiple doctors he was not fit to be behind the wheel.
Brian Scutt wrongly believed he was wanted by police and that he was dying of multiple cancers when he lost control of his 4WD and ploughed into two gas cylinders outside the packed Serves You Right Cafe in 2015.
But it was his untreated epilepsy, rather than his failing mental health, that a court ruled was most likely the cause of the crash.
A hearing of the Queensland Mental Health Court has determined Mr Scutt, 63, is now suffering dementia and will never be fit to stand trial on charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
The court heard Mr Scutt, who had been suffering from paranoid delusions in the months leading up to the June 9 crash, was driving that day despite being told by doctors it was not safe for him to be behind the wheel.
The court heard he had suffered from untreated epilepsy – possibly for decades – and had frequent seizures. He had also suffered from mental health issues, including delusions about the cafe, that the police were after him, and that he was dying from multiple forms of cancer.
The exploding gas cylinders blew lunchtime diners on to the street, causing horrific injuries to many. Mother-of-two Nicole Dempsey, 37, who had been working in the cafe, died from her injuries. So did 82year-old grandmother Margaret Clark.
Survivors have said they accept the court’s determination, saying they only want to move on with their lives.
Chef Noeleen Avenell was in the cafe’s kitchen at the time and bore the brunt of the blast. She spent weeks in a coma, months in intensive care and underwent 18 operations after suffering burns to 60 per cent of her body.
“What’s done is done. You can’t change it, you can’t bring Nicole back,” she said.
Ms Avenell said she was sat- isfied that Mr Scutt was no longer allowed to drive or have access to a vehicle.
“He can’t hurt anybody else,” she said.
“So it’s over and done with. My life won’t come back. I won’t get my life back. Neither will anybody else.
“And there’s no point sending him to jail.”
Fireman Joe Torrisi, who had been dining in the cafe when it exploded, said he still had scarring and problems with movement in his hands after sustaining burns to 42 per cent of his body.
“I’m just happy they’ve taken everything into consideration,” he said. “I have scarring and all that but there’s nothing I can do about it. I just move on with life. There is no use being angry.”
In a recent mental health court hearing, psychologists gave evidence about whether they believed Mr Scutt was capable of understanding the charges laid against him.
He was facing charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm.
Dr Pamela van de Hoef said she found Mr Scutt “disappointing” to interview and that he claimed to have no memory of the crash, the explosion or even being told by doctors not to drive.
“It’s fair to say that in the months, probably, leading up to the incident in Ravenshoe, Brian Scutt had a number of physical and mental health problems,” she told the court.
This included chronic renal problems, depression and epilepsy. She said Mr Scutt had also developed psychotic symptoms, heard voices and had become convinced police were investigating him after he and his wife gave a lift home to a young woman.
He had paranoid delusions
about the cafe itself and even tried to “hand himself in” to police on several occasions, believing they wanted to arrest him in relation to the young woman.
“He believed he had cancer,” Dr van de Hoef said.
“He’d come to believe through April to June that he was wanted by police. He was suicidal. From the accounts from the people who knew him, I think it’s clear he had some psychotic delusions.
“I travelled to Cairns to speak to Brian. I was very disappointed. He could not or would not tell me (what had happened). He claimed memory loss. I think I really did favour that he had a fit at the wheel. (But) I’m a doctor, not a detective.”
The court heard Mr Scutt also suffered terrible injuries – including severe burns – in the crash. He developed pneumonia while in hospital and doctors found evidence he had suffered some minor strokes.
Asked whether Mr Scutt was able to understand the charges against him, Dr van de Hoef said: “I was doubtful even about that.”
“I thought he could understand he had charges (against him) but in terms of what the charges meant, he knew people had died, he knew people had been hurt,” she said.
“I didn’t think he had grasped the import of what he was charged with. He had such poverty of detail in his responses to me. I was usually met with ‘I can’t remember, I don’t remember a thing, I don’t know’.
“I don’t believe he couldn’t remember a thing. I just couldn’t accept that.”
Justice Peter Flanagan found Mr Scutt was not of unsound mind at the time of the crash but was now “permanently unfit for trial”. He put an order in place preventing Mr Scutt from having access to a vehicle, firearms and alcohol.