Cleanaway files Supreme Court appeal against convictions over 2014 South-Eastern Freeway crash, says truck’s brakes were to blame

A company convicted of safety breaches over a deadly catastrophe at the bottom of the freeway says a court was wrong – and it shouldn’t be facing a potential $12m fine.

The horror 2014 South-Eastern Freeway crash was caused by mechanical error, not driver ignorance, and a waste company has been wrongly convicted, a court has heard.

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd has asked the Supreme Court to overturn its convictions for failing to adequately train truck driver Darren Hicks before the crash, which killed two people.

In its appeal papers, Cleanaway says it should not have been found guilty – nor be facing a maximum $12 million fine – because expert evidence absolves it of responsibility.

That same evidence led, in 2017, to prosecutors dropping criminal charges against the company while continuing with workplace safety breach allegations.

“The evidence established that the (victims) were exposed to risk of death and serious injury due to mechanical brake failure unconnected to Mr Hicks’ driving competence,” it asserts.

“(That failure is also) unconnected to any alleged omission to have in place specific (training) measures.

“There was no evidence that the manner of driving of Mr Hicks, prior to the incident, was other than competent and in accordance with proper safety procedures.”

The crash scene in 2014. Picture: Roger Wyman.

It argues no amount of pre-incident education nor competency testing could have ensured a different outcome to the incident.

“There was no evidence that Mr Hicks, if his competence was assessed in the manner alleged, would have driven differently to the way he drove on that day,” it says.

“There was no evidence that, had he been instructed to drive in some unspecified but different manner, the risk of serious injury or death posed to the victims would have been reduced.”

The crash, in August 2014, killed drivers Jacqui Byrne and Tom Spiess, and injured Mr Hicks and driver Louise Compton.

Criminal charges against both Cleanaway and Mr Hicks were dropped, but compensation proceedings have continued in the civil courts.

Darren Hicks, the truck’s driver, gave evidence against Cleanaway at trial. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

In August, after hearing evidence from Mr Hicks, the Adelaide Magistrates Court found Cleanaway guilty of federal workplace safety offences.

It has yet to pass sentence – the highest penalty imposed, to date, in SA for such offending is $650,000, also against Cleanaway.

In its appeal papers, Cleanaway asks the court to quash all eight convictions, find it not guilty and order federal regulations reimburse its legal costs.

It argues prosecutors failed to prove key elements of its case beyond reasonable doubt, and that the Magistrates Court erred by finding otherwise.

The court, it argues, accepted competing expert evidence that was “wholly or substantially based on unproven fact and assumption”.

Cleanaway’s appeal will be heard sometime prior to November, when its sentence is scheduled to be handed down.