Tears over car tragedy ’No winners’ in fatal accident
TWO families have been left “traumatised” by a Surfers Paradise crash that killed pedestrian Scott Cullen in October last year.
Details of the crash were revealed yesterday in the Southport Magistrates Court where Daniel Patrick O’Toole, 25, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.
The harrowing account left both Mr Cullen’s and O’Toole’s families in tears.
Magistrate Donald MacKenzie said “no one won” in cases like this.
He fined O’Toole $3000 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
The court heard O’Toole was driving about 10km/h over the speed limit at the time of the crash on Ferny Ave about 11pm on October 8, 2016. Drug and alcohol tests conducted on O’Toole came back negative.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Jack Mulherin said CCTV footage showed Mr Cullen, 22, crossing the road near the wax museum before pausing on the median strip to wait for three cars to pass.
He said it showed the Mazda driven by O’Toole approach with its headlights off before flicking on moments before hitting Mr Cullen.
Snr Const Mulherin said police arrived to find O’Toole visibly distressed.
“The vehicle had impact damage to the front driver’s side headlight, bonnet and a broken windscreen,” he said.
Mr MacKenzie, the prosecutor and defence lawyer Julie Devery withdrew to chambers to view the CCTV footage to prevent further anguish to the families.
Mr MacKenzie also ordered the CCTV footage to be sealed and not released to the public.
The court heard toxicology reports found Mr Cullen had a blood-alcohol content of 0.23 per cent and also traces of the party drug ecstasy in his system.
Ms Devery described the crash as a “tragic accident”.
“Both families are here and they are traumatised,” she said.
“My client said for a week after the crash he did not leave home and
Ms Devery said that on the night of the crash O’Toole, a packer from Pimpama, had been at a church event in Brisbane before returning to the Coast to pick up a friend who was drunk at a buck’s party.
She said he was distracted by that friend when the crash occurred. Mr MacKenzie said he accepted that O’Toole was driving between 70km/h and 75km/h in the 60 zone.
He said O’Toole was young, had a good family support network and no criminal history.
“That may not be of much comfort to the family who have to spend the rest of their lives without that person,” Mr MacKenzie said.
“That’s the real tragic aspect of it. It must be difficult and no one wins in a criminal prosecution.”
Mr MacKenzie said he needed to take into account the impact of a prison sentence and could not impose one solely on the consideration of the victim’s family.
The maximum penalty for driving without due care and attention is six months jail. did ‘nothing’.”