Truck driver jailed for maximum four years over horrific Sydney crash
Truck driver Sarmad Nisan has been jailed for a maximum of four years over a horrific crash at Dee Why in Sydney in 2014.
The incident occurred when Iraqi refugee Nisan ignored speed signs restricting trucks to 20km/h on Warringah Road in Dee Why, and rolled across the intersection of Pittwater Road into a number of vehicles in October, 2014.
Nisan, who came to Australia in 2009, was driving a 22-tonne truck when he lost control on a corner, tipped over and slammed into a line of traffic stopped at a red light at the notorious intersection.
Earlier in the year he was found guilty of two counts of dangerous driving after the crash, which left six people injured, including police officer Amy Champion.
Ms Champion was one of the more seriously injured victims, suffering a brain injury that saw her placed in an induced coma.
The crash impact also punctured the then-27-year-old’s lung, broke her shoulder and six ribs, smashed her teeth, tore her liver and left permanent scarring to her right arm.
The officer had been travelling to work when her vehicle was struck, and required extensive rehabilitation just to say her name.
The lawyer for Nisan had argued his client shouldn’t go to jail because his victims weren’t left “permanently disabled”.
Describing the crash as a “tragic accident”, Nisan’s lawyer argued the 42-year-old should not be jailed because he had a previously safe driving record and he had been acquitted of the more serious charge of wilful neglect.
His lawyer also added that the two most-injured victims were not permanently disabled and had returned to work.
Nisan claimed he had just one day of training before getting behind the wheel of the truck, and told police his brakes had failed.
The intersection where a declining Warringah Road meets the busy Pittwater Road at Dee Why has been the scene of horrific crashes over the years.
In 2000 an 11-month old boy was killed after a truck crashed into his family’s stationary car. Eight other vehicles were damaged in the crash. The driver Mosleh Mekhael was sentenced to four years jail in 2003.
Traffic conditions were then changed including introducing the 20km/h speed limit for trucks and buses.
But accidents continue including a near miss in December, 2015 when a semi-trailer was left lying on its side after losing control on the steep approach. There have been more than 61 accidents at the intersection since 2008.
