Driver charged over fatal motorcyclist crash at Elizabeth had licence disqualified 11 times

A man alleged to have hit and killed a motorcyclist while driving disqualified has given an emotional interview about the incident. Watch it in full.

• Recently married father killed in motorbike crash

A young father had at least 11 previous licence disqualifications when he allegedly hit and killed father of two Brad Thompson, a court has heard.

Christopher Bennett, 29, of Elizabeth Park, was granted supervised bail in the Elizabeth Magistrate Court on Monday over the fatal crash at Elizabeth on Sunday night.

Upon leaving the court, Mr Bennett gave an almost four-minute interview to waiting journalists in which he expressed his sorrow and denied driving without due care at the time of the crash.

“Please be quiet, I’ve got something to say,” he said as he came out, despite a supporter gesturing to move him away from journalists.

“To the family of the man that passed away last night, sorry does not even begin … does … sorry does not mean anything in comparison to how you guys feel right now.

“I would just like you guys to know how devastated I am and how much I’m feeling for you guys. It’s just a tragedy.

“I wish there was something more that I could do for him, I truly do.”

Christopher Bennett, 29, pictured outside court on Monday. Picture: Emily Jarvis

Brad Thompson, who died following the crash on Sunday night. Picture: Facebook

Sobbing at times, Mr Bennett was probed on why he was driving while disqualified.

“I was going to get tobacco, mate,” he said.

“There was – driving disqualified or not, this poor man passed away in this incident not because I was driving disqualified.

“It is not me that is suffering, it is the family of this man that’s passed.”

Mr Bennett said his 11 licence disqualifications had been when he was “young and dumb”.

“Eleven times I’ve lost my licence in the past, but all for stupid things. For being young and dumb,” he said.

“Even if I had my licence – you know what? I could have had the King or Queen in my passenger seat of that car and you know what? I wouldn’t have pulled out of that servo any differently. Any differently.”

He denied that he was driving without due care and said that he had not seen Mr Thompson.

“Unfortunately (I didn’t see him) and that’s what hurts so much,” he said.

“I wish I had a better excuse, a better reason for this happening but it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was disqualified.

“If I was doing the right thing, I might not have been there at the time. But do you know what? If I wasn’t disqualified and I was holding a licence and I was still in that same predicament that poor man probably still would have lost his life. But I very much understand that.”

Mr Bennett said he was speaking out in hope Mr Thompson’s family would understand.

“I am being put severely in the wrong here. I understand that and I am happy to receive the consequences of my actions. But it goes so much further than that,” he said.

“I just hope one day the family is going to forgive me for being involved in this incident.

“The only reason I’m speaking here today is to be man enough to show how I feel towards the family and to help them understand.

“My mate lost his life on a motorbike … I know exactly how they feel. I just want them to know that I know sorry doesn’t fix the problem.”

Emergency services at the Philip Highway, Elizabeth, crash scene on Sunday night. Picture: 7NEWS Adelaide

Earlier, the court heard that in addition to his previous licence disqualifications, Mr Bennett had been disqualified again from driving on November 4 of this year – just 8 days before the accident on Sunday night.

Defence counsel for Mr Bennett – who has been charged with aggravated driving without due care and driving disqualified – argued due to his client’s lack of time ever spent in custody, he would be “vulnerable” to any time served over the alleged offences.

He was granted bail, and is due to return to court in January.

Court documents released to The Advertiser show Mr Bennett was driving to the service station on Philip Highway to purchase tobacco for himself and his girlfriend, who lived with him at his mother’s house.

Mr Bennett allegedly knew that he was aware of his disqualification and that he “shouldn’t have been driving”, the documents state.

The documents include Mr Bennett’s description on how the collision occurred, telling police he was turning right out of the service station to return home and that he failed to notice the motorcycle approaching from his right until it was “too late”.

He stated the driving conditions were perfect, there were no obstructions to his view to the right and that his vehicle was in about the centre of the roadway when the crash occurred.

Police allege Mr Bennett’s Mazda sedan collided with a Kawasaki motorcycle around 8.15pm Sunday, at the intersection of Elizabeth Way and Philip Highway, in Elizabeth.

Mr Bennett was not injured but was taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital as a precaution.

Brad Thompson died at the scene in front of his family members, including new wife Karen, who he recently married after his first wife died of cancer.

Devastated friends visited the scene on Monday, leaving floral tributes for the 45-year-old Evanston Park man.