Mount Gambier truck driver Daniel Luke Barry found guilty of driving dangerously when he struck and killed cyclist Daryl Adams
A jury has unanimously found a Mount Gambier truck driver guilty of driving dangerously and causing the death of a cyclist when he hit and left him to die on the side of a South East country road.
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A Mount Gambier truck driver who hit and killed a cyclist in the state’s South East has been found guilty of driving dangerously and causing the death of cyclist Daryl Adams in January 2019.
Daniel Luke Barry, 38, did not react as the jury handed down the unanimous verdict at the District Court in Mount Gambier on Monday.
Prior to the decision, Judge Stephen McEwen said there was no dispute Barry was driving the truck that hit and killed Mr Adams.
Rather what was in question was the manner of the driving in the moments leading to the collision.
Barry left Mount Gambier around 5.30am in a semi-trailer on the morning of January 17, 2019 before colliding with the cyclist around 7.30am on the Princes Highway at the Coorong.
Mr Adams was found on the side of the road with fatal injuries and later died at the scene.
Barry kept on driving after the crash, stopping at Meningie before continuing to Adelaide.
When he arrived back in Naracoorte about 4.20pm that afternoon he was described as “agitated” and “spooked” having come to the realisation he had hit the cyclist.
He then called police and was arrested a short time later in Naracoorte.
Barry had previously pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving, rather pleading guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving.
The defence argued Mr Adams’ death was the result of a moment of carelessness from a truck driver with a good track record.
“It’s a tragic accident Mr Adams was killed and Mr Barry was driving the truck,” Barry’s lawyer said.
“He accepts he made a mistake on the road with tragic consequences.
“That moment of inattention has led to the loss of a life.”
Prosecutor Kos Lesses argued the accused would have had more than a minute to notice the cyclist on “a straight unremarkable stretch of highway” with no weather or visibility issues.
He told the jury Barry had admitted to multiple occasions of grossly affected outlook including in the triple-0 call and in his arrest statement.
“Out of Mr Barry’s own mouth he did not see the cyclist,” Mr Lesses said.
“I quote ‘I didn’t know I got him, I didn’t even hear nothing. It was early in the morning I had my music going, I didn’t even know I got anything’.”
The victim’s family lives in Victoria and was unable to attend the hearing, instead watching the verdict by video link.
The court was adjourned until December for submissions, with Barry to be sentenced at a later date.