Teen pleads guilty over crash which killed son of AFL great Brett Ratten
A teenager has pleaded guilty over a crash which claimed the life of the son of Carlton AFL great Brett Ratten.
Cooper Ratten, 16, was thrown 65 metres from a car he was a passenger in, when it rolled at Yarra Glen in Victoria.
Cooper was sitting in the back seat of the car, driven by his 17-year-old friend.
The L-Plate driver admitted he was drunk and had taken ecstasy when he got behind the wheel after a party.
Police alleged he was doing at least 126km/ph when the car rolled in thick fog.
Cooper wasn’t wearing a seatbelt when he was thrown from the car.
Neither Brett Ratten or Cooper’s mother Sharon, were in court to face his alleged killer.
Instead a statement was read out on her behalf.
“If I had one more day to hold you in my arms, I'd never let you go,” it said.
A number of other family members, including Mr Ratten’s wife, also detailed their grief.
"I worry about Brett and how he's coping. Our grief is beyond measurable,” she said.
“Thoughts of Cooper being ejected from the car and lying there haunt me every day,” his girlfriend said.
The court heard the learner driver was repeatedly warned by friends at the party not to drive.
It’s believed at one stage the keys were hidden from him, however, the teen found them and the three boys then piled into the car.
The driver, who has pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death, will face court again on Tuesday.
