Truck driver Darren Michael Hicks to face trial over fatal 2014 South-Eastern Freeway crash, pleads not guilty
THE truck driver who fatally slammed into cars at the bottom of the South-Eastern Freeway in 2014 will stand trial, with prosecutors claiming he was the reason the multi-tonne vehicle’s brakes failed.
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THE truck driver who fatally slammed into cars at the bottom of the South Eastern Freeway in 2014 will stand trial, with prosecutors claiming he was the reason the multi-tonne vehicle’s brakes failed.
In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday, prosecutors successfully argued Darren Michael Hicks had a case to answer on counts of causing death and serious harm by dangerous driving.
Earlier this month, the future of the case appeared in doubt when Hicks’ employer, Cleanaway, was cleared of wrongdoing due to expert evidence the truck’s brakes had failed.
However, prosecutors said — and the court on Wednesday accepted — it was arguable that Hicks caused that failure by misusing the brakes throughout his journey down the freeway.
Chris Edge, prosecuting, said Hicks had overheated and worn out the brakes by using them for more than two minutes over a 3km descent.
Hicks did so, he alleged, despite being warned during his training that “if you cook the brakes, it will kill you”.
“That reveals the magnitude of his departure from the acceptable standard of driving ... it was inviting casualty,” he said.
“This created a very real risk of a catastrophic event, well beyond the ordinary, tolerable risks of the road.
“He was tempting fate to a wholly unacceptable degree.”
Hicks, 32, had yet to plead to two counts of causing death, and one count of causing serious harm, by dangerous driving and two counts of driving without due care.
He was behind the wheel of a Cleanaway sewage truck that slammed into cars at the bottom of the South Eastern Freeway on August 18, 2014.
Tom Spiess, 56, and Jacqui Byrne, 41, died as a result of the injuries they sustained, while other motorists were seriously hurt.
A coronial inquest subsequently heard Hicks’ truck was out of control and travelling at 151km/h in the final 190m before impacting with their cars.
It also heard Hicks had only been working for Cleanaway — then known as Transpacific — for a week prior to the crash.
Three weeks ago, The Advertiser revealed SA Police had dropped charges that Cleanaway had allowed an unsafe vehicle on the roads.
Police accepted expert evidence that the company did not know the truck’s brakes were faulty because the business to which it outsourced maintenance had not made it aware.
Cleanaway still faces a maximum $1.5 million fine if found guilty of having failed to properly train Hicks.
On Wednesday, Mark Twiggs, for Hicks, insisted his client was not to blame for the crash because the damage to the brakes was pre-existing.
“They did not allow him to slow down and the rest, unfortunately, is history,” he said.
“The prosecution is alleging that, in hindsight, Hicks should have driven at a slower speed in the first place because he did not know what might happen.
“That is not the law.”
Mr Edge, however, said the law required truck drivers to use their gears to slow down on the Freeway, and specifically prohibited use of the foot brake.
“The accused was doing the very thing the authorities are at pains to stop ... it’s hard to think of another aspect (of truck driving) so fundamental to safety,” he said.
“In his own words after the crash, Hicks called it a ‘guestimation’ that he was in fifth gear ... it’s as clear as day that the speed and gear he chose was too high.”
Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard, however, conceded it was arguable that the prosecution’s version of events was correct, and the ultimate decision should be made by a jury.
Hicks pleaded not guilty to all charges and was remanded on continuing bail to face the District Court in October.