Driver's frustration started fatal chain reaction
A driver's "sheer frustration" at being tailgated prompted him to deliberately slow his speed to 30kmh below the limit and resulted in a chain reaction of collisions which caused the death of a teenager, a District Court jury was told today.
Robert David Allan is facing trial after pleading not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Jesse Phillis on Watkins Road in Mundijong on June 23, 2013.
Blair James Annandale is facing a joint trial on the same charge for allegedly failing to pay proper attention before the vehicle he was driving crashed into the rear of the car in which Jesse was a passenger.
Opening the State case, prosecutor Nick Cogin said Mr Annandale crashing into the rear of the car then caused it to spin into the path of a fourth car travelling in the opposite direction on the other side of the road.
Mr Cogin told the jury that Mr Allan told police he was regularly tailgated by drivers of the South West highway and this history was relevant to the prosecution case.
He said Mr Allan had deliberately slowed his vehicle, a white Mitsubishi van, from travelling at a speed of 70kmh to 40kmh as a result of his frustration at the red Suzuki, in which Jesse was passenger, driving too close to the rear of his car.
Mr Cogin said this caused a chain reaction, with a green Commodore driven by Mr Annandale then colliding with the back of the Suzuki, which the prosecution case says caused it to spin into the path of a white Holden rodeo being driven in the opposite direction.
He said Mr Allan later told police he was about to sneeze and that was why he slowed down.
But the State alleged there was "absolutely no reason" other than his frustration at being tailgated for him slowing down.
"The State says his driving was dangerous because for no reason other than his frustration he slowed his vehicle down from 70kmh to 40kmh and that caused the chain reaction, Mr Cogin said.
He said the State alleged that Mr Annandale was not paying proper attention to the road and was travelling too close to the Suzuki, which on the prosecution case could be inferred from the collision with the rear of the car.
He said CCTV footage from a camera inside Mr Allan's car, which captured the collision in it's side mirror, would be played during the trial.
Defence lawyers will open their cases this afternoon.
