Mixed messages
Defendant gave thumbs up to crash driver query
FOOTAGE taken at the scene has shown defendant Dwayne John Joel Mitchell gave police officers a thumbs up when asked if he was the driver of the vehicle in a crash that killed Dylan Donohue.
Jurors viewed body-worn camera footage from police officers at the scene on day two of the trial in which Mr Mitchell is charged with driving a vehicle while drunk and in a dangerous manner.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Defence barrister Kelly Stone told Townsville District Court yesterday other footage of the accused revealed his client was unable to answer questions coherently.
He has argued his client was not the driver of the vehicle.
When asked what month it was by paramedic Christina Griffiths, Mr Mitchell said it was April.
The crash occurred on July 29, 2018. Mr Stone asked Constable Jacob Howlett, whose body-worn camera footage was played at court, if the officer thought Mr Mitchell’s responses to questions were “strange”. Constable Howlett said yes.
Mr Mitchell, 23, can be heard saying “I can’t breathe” in the video and is able to correctly remember his birthday.
Later in the night, as Mr Mitchell was being treated in the ambulance, Constable Howlett approached and asked Mr Mitchell if he was the driver.
Mr Mitchell then gave the officer the thumbs up.
Police have been unable to locate Mr Pope in recent months.
Ambulance officer Ms Griffiths, who treated Mr Mitchell at the scene, gave evidence at the trial. Ms Griffiths said Mr Mitchell scored perfectly on the Glasgow Coma Scale, used to determine if someone has a head injury.
Ms Griffiths said while Mr Mitchell had answered questions about the year and day of the week wrongly, she believed the adrenaline and “busyness” of the scene contributed to his confusion.
She told the court when she removed Mr Mitchell from the busy scene, he had been able to answer the questions.
Ms Griffiths asked the questions associated with the scale six times over the course of the night.
The trial will continue today.