Driver Sasan Zar Sabet stands trial over catastrophic high-speed death of pedestrian Peter Chiappetta in December 2014
PEDESTRIAN Peter Chiappetta had his leg severed and was thrown 30m through the air in a “catastrophic, full-throttle” collision with a speeding show-off near the Entertainment Centre, a court has heard.
A PEDESTRIAN was thrown into the air for 30m, and slid another 29m upon landing, in a “catastrophic, full-throttle” fatal collision with a speeding show-off, a court has heard.
On Monday, the District Court heard Peter Chiappetta’s right foot was severed at the ankle, and his right leg at the hip, when he was hit by Sasan Zar Sabet in December 2014.
Chris Edge, prosecuting, said Mr Chiappetta died instantly but the impact threw his body into the air, landing 30m down Port Rd and sliding a further 29m due to its momentum.
That distance and velocity, he said, demonstrated how dangerously Sabet had been driving his modified, turbocharged Holden HSV GTS through Hindmarsh.
“He had accelerated harshly at about the time the car was going past the Entertainment Centre, outside a crowd of people,” he said.
“It’s a 60km/h speed limit and witnesses saw and heard the vehicle at full throttle ... no less than 80km/h and, realistically, above that (to) just over 100km/h.
“That’s consistent with deliberate showing off ... it caused catastrophic injuries to the deceased.”
Sabet, 37, of Brompton, yesterday pleaded not guilty to one count of having caused Mr Chiappetta’s death by dangerous driving.
The charge arises from an incident, witnessed by patrons of both the Entertainment Centre and nearby hotels, in the early hours of Saturday, December 6, 2014.
Opening the trial, Mr Edge said Mr Chiappetta had been drinking at his work’s end-of-year function, and had a post-mortem blood alcohol reading of 0.297.
He said that reading, while high, in no way mitigated Sabet’s culpability because CCTV footage showed Mr Chiappetta did not run out on to the road.
He said Mr Chiappetta would have been clearly visible to Sabet for at least six seconds prior to the collision.
“Sabet was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle (which) had been further enhanced,” he said.
“It had been subjected to fairly significant performance enhancement including the addition of a supercharger and an aftermarket exhaust system ... it was very capable of fast acceleration.
“Mr Chiappetta was there to be seen by an attentive driver ... Sabet was showing off, he was fast-driving rather than attentive-driving.”
Mr Edge said Sabet spoke to police at the scene and claimed that, as he was changing lanes, he “looked up” and saw Mr Chiappetta “going pretty fast”, but it was too late to avoid him.
Craig Caldicott, for Sabet, said his client disputed the speeds calculated by witnesses and crash reconstruction experts, and maintained Mr Chiappetta had been running.
The trial, before Judge Geraldine Davison and in the absence of a jury, is expected to run for five days.