Lamborghini driver Alexander Campbell – charged over death of Sophia Naismith – twice seen driving erratically before crash, court told

A driver who crashed his $330k car – killing teenager Sophia Naismith and injuring her friend – has failed to have evidence that he was ‘fishtailing’ before the crash excluded from the trial.

A driver who crashed his luxury car off the road, killing a teenage girl and injuring her friend, was witnessed “fish tailing” around a corner only hours before the crash, a court has heard.

Alexander Campbell is standing trial for causing the death of Sophia Naismith, 15, by dangerous driving and injuring her friend on Morphett Rd, Glengowrie, on June 22, 2019.

Mr Campbell was behind the wheel of a $330,000 white 2016 Lamborghini Huracan, which he had owned for almost five months at the time of the crash.

He has pleaded guilty to aggravated driving without due care but denies he was driving dangerously.

Alexander Campbell, right, outside Adelaide District Court on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Craig Caldicott, for Mr Campbell, moved to have three aspects of the prosecution dismissed.

Mr Campbell was witnessed “fish tailing” around the corner of Elizabeth Way and Main North Rd only hours before the crash, on his way to a car show at Marion.

During a pre-trial hearing on Thursday before Judge Paul Muscat, who is hearing the trial without a jury, heard an application by Mr Campbell’s legal team to have the evidence excluded.

Craig Caldicott, for Mr Campbell, argued the evidence of five witness who saw the “fishtailing” was too far removed by both time and distance to be relevant to the prosecution case.

Sophia Naismith.

Sophia Naismith was just 15 when she was killed. Picture: Instagram

Kos Lesses, prosecuting, said the case against Mr Campbell was very precise.

They claim that Mr Campbell “aggressively accelerated”, lost control of his car and crashed into the two girls.

The case against Mr Campbell is that he was driving in one of the car’s two sports modes and should have known that accelerating was dangerous to any pedestrians or other motorists.

In a ruling handed down on Thursday afternoon, Judge Muscat found the evidence was admissible and had value to deciding whether Mr Campbell was aware of the dangers of rapidly accelerating.

A separate witness reported seeing Mr Campbell rapidly accelerating and braking on Oaklands Road only minutes before the crash.

The court heard the witness would tell the court she saw Mr Campbell pulling in behind her and then filming her car with his phone in his hand.

Relatives and supporters of Sophia Naismith’s family outside the District Court before Thursday’s hearing Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Judge Muscat observed that the case was not that Mr Campbell was driving recklessly or speeding when he crashed.

He excluded the evidence of that witness, saying it was not relevant to the prosecution case.

Mr Lesses conceded during the hearing that he did not have the evidence to argue that Mr Campbell was street racing.

The court heard witnesses would say during the trial that Mr Campbell was lined up next to a friend who had also been at the car show and another witness heard loud accelerating from both cars.

Mr Caldicott also applied to have expert evidence from two professional racing drivers excluded.

He said the evidence of the pair did not extend to how a Lamborghini would handle on a suburban street, compared with a racetrack, while in race mode.

The Lamborghini that lost control and killed Sophia Naismith and injured her friend.

Mr Lesses said the drivers would testify that Lamborghini recommends that their cars be driven in street mode, not race mode, when not on a racetrack.

Judge Muscat ruled that the evidence of both experts would be admissible.

“Each witness is qualified and their evidence is plainly relevant,” he said.

The trial is expected to open on Friday.