Robert Michael Ryan pleads guilty over fatal Waterloo Corner crash that killed Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Macheda
The man behind the wheel of the car that crashed into a tractor at Waterloo Corner, killing a loving family man, has pleaded guilty.
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A man charged with causing the death of an elderly Waterloo Corner farmer while driving with alcohol in his system has pleaded guilty to running the 83-year-old’s tractor off the road.
Robert Michael Ryan, 41, of Bolivar, appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated causing death by dangerous driving and duty to hold a licence or learner’s permit.
Ryan was the driver of a silver Ford station wagon on Symes Road at Waterloo Corner on November 12, 2022, about 7.30pm when his car and the tractor collided.
Mr Ryan had more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, with a blood test returning a result of more than 0.08.
The 83-year-old driver of the tractor, Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Macheda, died at the scene.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court previously heard the devastating details that led to the death of Mr Macheda.
At a hearing in January, a police prosecutor described how Ryan allegedly tried to overtake Mr Macheda’s tractor while he was driving along Symes Rd, but clipped the rear wheel and caused it to flip and roll.
As the tractor rolled, the court heard, Mr Macheda was thrown from it and into a flooded culvert.
Mr Macheda’s family gathered at the scene in the days following the crash to remember the “loving family man”.
9News Adelaide reported one relative described Mr Macheda as a quiet, family man with five children and 16 grandchildren.
Mr Macheda is understood to have moved to Adelaide in the 1970s and worked as a market gardener — giving back to the community for decades.
Ryan, who has been in custody since November last year, appeared before Magistrate Mary-Louise Hribal via video link to answer the charges.
Ryan was committed to appear before the District Court on June 30.
An aggravated charge of causing death by dangerous driving can carry with it a term of life imprisonment.
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