Cardross accidents refer to a hit-and-run accident in Cardross, Victoria, Australia at 9.50 pm on February 18, 2006, where the driver drove the Ford EA Falcon station wagon, crashed into a group of thirteen teenage pedestrians, killing five immediately and injured eight others. The teens walked along Myall Street, Cardross to a party at the nearby Red Cliffs after being dropped by a taxi at the wrong address.
Cassandra Manners , 16, Stevie-Lee Weight , 15, Cory Dowling , 16, Abby Hirst , 17 and her 16-year-old brother, Shane Hirst, all died at the scene. Josephine Calvi , 16, died the next day at Royal Adelaide Hospital.
On February 20, 2006, Thomas Graham Towle , an unemployed 35-year-old father of six children from Red Cliffs appeared in Mildura Judge Court, facing 17 counts, including six wrong driving, five consequences causing serious injury and one failed to stop after the accident. Towle made no app for bail and was held in custody and ordered to reappear before the Mildura Judge Court for a binding trial to begin in March 2007. His trial before the Supreme Court began in Melbourne on 4 February 2008.
Video Cardross road accident
Aftermath
Peter Gallagher, a member of the victim's family Cory Dowling, read a statement on behalf of the victim's family to a crowd of over 600 mourners gathered on the lawn at Base Mildura Hospital on the night of the accident,
- " We are now aware that we have lost our beautiful children overnight, at some point in time, our lives have changed forever.No words can describe what we are going through.
The Victorian government announced it would provide A $ 40,000 for counseling victims and relatives.
Former Prime Minister, John Howard issued a statement after the accident,
Michael Jeffery, the Governor-General of Australia, also sent a condolence message to the Mildura community, which he had visited during 2005.
Two minutes of silence were observed at the Rock Lock Music Festival held in Mildura a week after the accident, on February 25, 2006. The festival is hosted by a radio broadcaster and former Red Cliffs resident, Myf Warhurst.
The Towle family, including their children, reported receiving threats from community members, forcing the police to make an interesting announcement to calm down. Acting Superintendent Michael Talbot of the Major Crime Investigation Unit was quoted as saying,
- " Creating more tension will not help them It will not help their families to overcome what has happened We, as the people, the police, the people of Mildura, all have to work together to stay calm in and make sure everything is going well, right and there are no problems caused. "
The father of the defendant, Graham Towle, offered his condolences, saying
- "... with pain and tears, I want everyone to know I feel very sorry for my family and friends from losing the sorrow and grief that has taken place." The community has gathered around all and I, as father and grandfather, openly thank them for their kindness and compassionate words. "
On February 18, 2007, a memorial service was held at Mildura's Henderson Park to mark the first anniversary of the accident. A permanent roadside cemetery was set up at the scene in early 2007.
Maps Cardross road accident
Hearing komital
A court hearing began in Mildura before Judge Donna Bakos on March 19, 2007. A total of 42 witnesses including 28 children were summoned during a two-week trial. Towle is not required to attend the hearing because of concerns about his safety and appears briefly via video link at the beginning of the submission process.
Allegedly Towle drank bourbon whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola in the morning and let his four-year-old son sit on his lap while driving at speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour just before the accident. The witness, Matthew Orsini, denied the group was walking on the street.
Towle told police he traveled about 90 kilometers an hour, and that the bends "just jumped in his direction".
- "When I was on the corner, it was pretty sharp, I set my foot on the brakes and lost control of the car and then went sideways to a group of people... very close to the road."
Towle describes the scene to the police as "absolute horror".
Towle escaped from the scene, leaving his four-year-old son and his ten-year-old daughter behind. He called the police to inform them of his whereabouts five hours after the accident. Andrew Arden, a teenager who was present at the crash site, refused to threaten to kill Towle immediately after the accident, but confessed during the hearing he shouted in Towle, saying " you fucking bastard, what should be done? i> "then throw a bottle of beer at him.
Towle is reported to be hysterical and suicide in the hours after the accident. On the advice of his lawyer, Towle also refused to give blood samples to the police. Towle then told police:
- I can not believe I did it - I made a mistake It was really an accident... there is no driver in the world who can control the bend, even Michael Schumacher... unless there is a speed sign saying to slow the moment the bend approaches. "
Towle's defense attorney, Brendan Murphy, QC says that his client's legal rights have been damaged, saying,
- " It will be shown throughout this commitment that it has been done by Victoria police investigators to sanitize witness statements and as a result there have been exceptions to important factors and this could have resulted from the deposition of the defendant in this case which is fair. .
The vehicle allegedly involved in the accident was sent to Japan for metal scrap without the consent of the defendant's defense team. ABC TV's Media Watch highlighted front page articles in The Age newspaper where previously a court of accused was registered, a Media Watch action declared it could affect a jury.
On March 27, 2007, Magistrate Donna Bakos ordered Towle to be tried in the Supreme Court of Victoria, and appeared for a hearing on the Supreme Court on June 5, 2007. Towle officially refused a warrant, with Justice Bakos saying he was unacceptable escape risk.
Experiment
Thomas Graham Towle's trial begins on February 4, 2008 before the Supreme Court of Victoria and is expected to last for four to five weeks. On March 31, 2008 he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years with a minimum of seven years, of which Towle had served for two years. Then Towle appealed for the sentence but the original verdict was upheld.
Towle was released on June 2013.
In September 2015, Towle was returned to prison after the Adult Parliament Board of Parole canceled his parole amid fears of "escalating risk to society". It does not reveal how he has violated his condition of parole.
See also
- List of road accidents
- Disaster list in Australia with death rate
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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