Family speaks of void after patriarch Harvie Spencer died in fatal crash while Mitchell Franklin allegedly watched wrestling DVD
A FAMILY has spoken of the “void” in their life after losing their father to a car crash caused by Mitchell Deane Franklin, who was allegedly watching a wrestling DVD while driving.
MARY Joan Spencer would fall asleep each night thinking of the last image she had of her beloved husband of 62 years as he sat slumped over the steering wheel after a horrific crash that claimed his life.
Her children believe the heartache of losing her life partner, Harvie Spencer, 86, contributed to her death about 20 months later.
On Tuesday, the couple’s son, Colin Spencer, told the District Court his family had been left shattered by the crash ahead of Judge Paul Muscat’s sentencing of Mitchell Deane Franklin in May.
A jury found Franklin, 28, guilty of dangerous driving causing death after prosecutors alleged he had been watching a wrestling DVD while driving on the Augusta Hwy, near Port Pirie, in June 2013.
He crashed into the back of Mr Spencer’s car — which his wife was a passenger in — while it was waiting to turn off the highway.
“I have gone from having two fit, healthy, happy parents in 2013 and now find myself with a huge void in my life as my mother has since passed away,” Colin Spencer said in his victim impact statement, which was read to the court by prosecutor Michael Foundas.
“She never recovered from the shock, stress and the tremendous loss.
“She had a clean bill of health just before the accident and has now died of pancreatic cancer which we believe was brought on due to the stress from the accident and having to cope without her life partner.
“While with us, three weeks before she died, mum spoke of her last vision of our father in the car after the accident and said it was the last thing she pictured in her mind every night before trying to go to sleep.”
A victim impact statement by Mary Joan Spencer was transcribed by police from her handwritten notes in 2014.
“I remember seeing a shadow figure sitting slumped over the steering wheel with a crown that looked like blood,” she wrote.
“A lass opened my door and said, ‘can you walk?’
“I think I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ll try’. She told me Harvie was not well when I asked about him.”
“For quite a long time, each time I closed my eyes at night, this was the picture that came — it still does.”
Mr Spencer described his father as a “true gentlemen” who would help anyone in need.
“The shock of seeing the damage to his vehicle and arriving at the accident scene and the injuries that must have been suffered by my dad still haunts me on a daily basis,” he wrote in his statement.
He said he often wondered how another driver could not have seen his father’s car.
“We soon found out that he was too busy watching a wrestling DVD, rather than paying attention to the road,” he said.
“We arrived at the crash scene some nine hours after it happened — it was a sickening sight.
“This was not an accident, this was one person’s selfish, self-indulgent, senseless and reckless act — watching a DVD while driving was more important to him than being a mature, responsible driver.”
During the trial in February, Franklin tearfully apologised to Mr Spencer’s family, and conceded he should have been more vigilant, but denied he was watching the DVD.
But Mr Spencer said the family did not accept his apology.
“I did not accept his pathetic attempt at an apology. I feel this was only offered up during the trial to get the sympathy of the jury,” he said.
Hours before the crash, Mr Spencer had seen his father at the family farm.
“He was his usual bright, happy, energetic self and he had done a lot of work that weekend,” he said.
“I will never forget opening the door to the police and them telling me the shocking news that my father had been killed in a senseless road crash.
“My father had driven down that road countless times over a period of 65 years plus — accident free. He was a cautious driver.
“He was my hero.”
It was alleged that Franklin had 10 seconds to avoid the crash but was distracted by an in-car DVD player showing WWE’s SmackDown: No Way Out event.
Mr Foundas said the prosecution would be seeking an immediate jail term when he is sentenced in May.
Franklin showed no emotion as the victim impact statements were read in court.