Kane Bowman pleads guilty over shocking hit-run death of father Kieran Hayward in Ingle Farm
KIERAN Hayward was walking home, holding his children’s hands as he crossed the road when he was mowed down by a disqualified driver travelling at up to twice the speed limit. Today, there is justice.
THE widow of a man killed by a disqualified driver travelling at up to twice the legal speed limit in a hit-run as he walked from his son’s soccer practice is relieved her late husband has received justice.
Kane William Bowman, 27, admitted mowing down Kieran Hayward, 45, while speeding at up to 100km/h in a 50km/h zone as the father held his two young children’s hands while crossing a northern suburbs road in August 2015.
A “heroic” Mr Hayward, a refrigeration mechanic of Walkley Heights, in Adelaide’s northeast, suffered “catastrophic injuries” after being flung almost 30m and died during surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
His two children, then aged seven and five, were uninjured after they ran to either side of the road.
Bowman, who has a mild intellectual disability, fled the Beovich Rd, Ingle Farm, scene before torching his friend’s white Ford ute 1.7km away in Celtic Ave.
He was arrested two days later.
In the District Court on Monday, he admitted causing Mr Hayward’s death by aggravated dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident after causing a death by careless driving.
Showing no emotion, Bowman, of Ingle Farm, changed his plea to guilty during an administrative hearing scheduled to decide whether he wanted to face a jury trial or one overseen by a judge.
It can be revealed that his sudden plea came after he faced a landmark “fitness to plead” jury trial last week, which ruled on Friday afternoon that he was mentally competent to be prosecuted.
It is believed to be the first time a jury has been asked to rule on such arguments.
In an emotional statement outside court, Mr Hayward’s grieving widow Dee, 37, paid tribute to family and friends who rallied during the “enormously difficult” past 20 months.
She also thanked the public who “poured out their support” in a “very personal” case that had a “good result” because of police and prosecutors.
“This is obviously the result that we wanted, that the man responsible for the death of my husband and the destruction of my world would … be accountable for the manner in which Kieran was killed,” she said.
“That being said it doesn’t bring Kieran back. We just have to be satisfied we achieved the best possible result available to us and that gives me a sense of relief that everything possible has been done to receive justice for Kieran.”
Last week’s trial heard complex legal argument about Bowman’s mental impairment while doctors concluded he had the intelligence of a six- or eight-year-old child.
The case’s horrific facts aired to the jury can only be reported after The Advertiser on Monday successfully argued for orders banning publication be revoked.
The children cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Judge Sophie David remanded Bowman in custody to face court again later this month.
