Wife of crash victim Tony Walsh tells court of ‘enormous bang’ as husband was struck by alleged hit-run lawyer Lauren Willgoose
The wife of a man struck by an allegedly drunk Adelaide lawyer in a hit-run has told a court she witnessed a “flash” and “enormous bang” as he was flung into the air.
Police & Courts
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The wife of a man struck by an allegedly drunk lawyer in a hit-run crash has described seeing a “flash” and hearing an “enormous bang” before watching her husband flung into the air.
Christine Walsh had been out to dinner with her husband, neuropsychologist Anthony “Tony” Walsh” on June 30, 2021 and friends before Lauren Jean Willgoose, 31, allegedly struck Mr Walsh and continued driving.
Giving evidence in the District Court trial of Ms Willgoose, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident, Mrs Walsh said she was watching her husband as he crossed “almost to the middle” of Goodwood Rd.
“There was a flash … then there was this enormous bang and he went up in the air and went down on the ground and rolled about four or five times,” she said.
“I went across the road, felt for a pulse, there was a young man stopping traffic. I felt for a pulse, there wasn’t a pulse.”
She said one of the friends the couple had been at dinner with, Roman Nowosilskyj, was a GP and had resuscitated Mr Walsh, bringing back his pulse before the ambulance arrived.
She said Mr Walsh was taken to the RAH but never regained consciousness. He died in hospital nine days later.
Mrs Walsh, who does not drink, said her husband had consumed “two to three drinks” during dinner and was “tipsy” but “certainly wasn’t drunk”.
She said her husband was an “experienced” drinker who walked with a “limp” because he had one knee replacement and required another.
She disagreed with a suggestion Mr Walsh had “dashed” across the road.
She said lighting in the area was bright and it had been “drizzling” earlier but the road was dry because she had knelt beside her husband and her pants were not wet.
Lesia Iwaniw, one of the friends at dinner with Mr Walsh, also gave evidence and told the court the car appeared as a “blur” before hitting her friend, who had looked each way as he crossed the road.
“I saw him, I thought, at about the centre of the road and then next thing, there was just this enormous bang,” she said.
“I saw Tony up in the air, like a ball, then I saw him come down, bang, bang, bang sort of on Goodwood Rd and he came to a stop.
“I didn’t see a car hit Tony, I just heard it, and I watched him and he just went up in the air after the bang and down, down, down.
She said she had rushed toward Mr Walsh with his wife.
“I looked at his face and it didn’t look like Tony … I was hysterical,” she said. “I was screaming out ‘call an ambulance’.”
She said Mr Walsh walked with a “hobble” and was “always in a rush”. She said he had left the group to cross the road while the others were still talking. She said lighting in the area was “very bright” and she could see him “very clearly”.
Another witness, Caroline Mansueto, told the court she had watched as Mr Walsh “just ran out” across the road.
“He certainly wasn’t walking, he dashed,” she said.
She said she had been watching him, having herself been hit by a car years earlier, because “he looked like he was about to do something unsafe”.
“I heard a thudding sound, maybe a bit of like a tyre squeal and some shattering of plastic,” the witness said.
Opening the trial last week, Michael Foundas, prosecuting, said Ms Willgoose was captured on CCTV at the Goodwood Park Hotel drinking five glasses of wine – totalling 1.15L prior to the crash.
He said an expert would tell the court that on countback after testing the next day, Ms Willgoose had an estimated blood alcohol level of 0.23 and was “significantly over the limit” at the time of the crash.
She was arrested the following day after handing herself into police at her lawyer’s office. Mr Foundas had told the court phone records show Ms Willgoose had made a number of calls after the crash, including calls to known criminal lawyers and law firms between 5.30 and 6.30am the next morning.
The trial, before Judge Nick Alexandrides in the absence of a jury, is continuing.
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