Kris Douglas Allen not guilty: Glamorgan Vale highway crash ended motorcyclist’s life

A builder on trial in an Ipswich court after a highway collision ended a motorcyclist’s life in 2019 has been found not guilty.

A builder on trial in an Ipswich court after a highway collision ended a motorcyclist’s life in 2019 has been found not guilty.

“Glamorgan Vale resident Kris Allen, 46, had pleaded not guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

On Tuesday May 17, the jury heard that around 5am on July 3, 2019, Mr Allen turned onto the Brisbane Valley Highway from Wanora Road and collided with motorcyclist John Stanbury, 52.

Mr Stanbury died at the scene.”

JURY VERDICT:

Today, Thursday, May 19, 2022, crown prosecutor Matt Le Grand said despite the bad visibility and tint of the car windows, it was the responsibility Mr Allan to drive to conditions and exercise his due diligence and care.

Prosecutor Le Grand said although it was difficult to gage distance given the heavy tint, it wasn’t impossible for a driver to make the right decision.

Prosecutor Le Grand said even though the car wasn’t Mr Allan’s, it is common sense for one to release such a heavy window tint would impede vision.

During Prosecutor Le Grand’s final remarks he said it was clear Mr Allan did not keep a proper lookout while merging onto the major highway at a low speed, and did not give way to the passing bike causing the death of Mr Stanbury.

Defence barrister Stephen Kissick said the jury only needed focus on the criminality of the charge, as Mr Allan was not before the court on a traffic offence.

Mr Kissick said the crash was born of confusion, mistake, and mind trickery.

Mr Kissick said when Mr Allan saw the dull headlight his mind made a reactive and intuit calculation based off his experience.

Mr Kissick said Mr Allan’s shock and confusion following the impact cemented the fact that he didn’t know the tint had effected his judgment.

Mr Kissick it was also clear that Mr Allan was driving with caution because he was only travelling at 9kmh.
The jury also agreed that Mr Allan had been driving with due care after finding the father not guilty of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

EARLIER THIS WEEK

DAY 2 OF TRIAL

On day two of Allen’s trial, two witnesses were called upon and cross-examined: Ipswich Forensic Crash Unit OIC Sergeant Darryl Morrison and Professor Stephen Dain.

Defence barrister Stephen Kissick asked Sgt Morrison about the speed at which Allen was understood to be driving as he turned south into an 100km/hr lane.

“You can look at his acceleration rate and confirm that it was what might be considered normal acceleration, do you agree with that?’ Mr Kissick asked Sgt Morrison.

“On the upper level,” Sgt Morrison replied.

“It’s definitely not race car acceleration but it’s within limits …”

Crown prosecutor Matt Le Grand told the court that both defence and prosecution had agreed on a number of facts; including that John Stanbury was the sole rider of the Suzuki GSF 1200 motorcycle on the morning of July 3, 2019, when it collided with a Holden Colorado dual cab utility driven by Allen.

It was also agreed Mr Stanbury died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision.

Questions about the impact the tint on Allen’s left window would have had on his ability to detect another vehicle were posed to witness Professor Stephen Dain, who appeared in court via video-link.

Dr Dain said window tinting reduces the ability for a driver to detect other vehicles because it makes the brightness of everything “much less”.

“Vision performs better the more light that we’ve got on the object,” he said.

“(Tinting) is going to reduce the amount of light quite substantially.”

Mr Kissick confirmed with Dr Dain that he was provided with details of the particular tint on the vehicle Allen was driving when the car crashed, and that he had said it would make the headlights of another vehicle about one-seventh as bright as when viewed from a “legally tinted” side window.

Dr Dain said the clue that lights are brighter as they are closer is “compromised”.

The trial will continue in the District Court first thing Thursday morning, May 19.

DAY 1 OF TRIAL

Mr Allen told police at the scene that before turning onto the highway, he had seen what he believed to be a headlight through the fog far in the distance.

He turned onto the highway, believing the light far enough away to be safe, but said it was distorted through the heavy fog.

After the collision, Mr Allen moved to the side of the road and turned on his hazard lights.

Another vehicle approached the scene shortly after and, with the driver not seeing Mr Stanbury’s body through the fog until the last moment, drove over his body before pulling over to the side of the road.

The prosecution argued in court that Mr Allen failed to maintain a proper lookout and failed to give way before turning onto the highway.

Several witnesses, paramedics and police on the scene that morning gave their testimony in court today.

Other drivers on the scene described the road conditions that morning, concurring that it was still dark at the time of the collision and that there was heavy fog at the intersection.

Michael Lenard gave an emotional account of the morning, on which his wife was driving him to work via the highway.

He recounted that upon approaching the crash site he saw a halo of a headlight ahead, which then dipped.

When his wife drove closer, he saw a blue Ute stop and then pull over.

He said he did not see the body on the road until moments before they made impact, and recalled shouting “swerve, swerve” to his wife, but it was too late.

They drove over the body before pulling over at the side of the road.

Another driver believed he drove over the motorcycle that remained on the road — which appeared to him as a pothole at the time.

Paramedic Peter Roberts attended to Mr Allen on the scene and said Allen reported pain in his shoulder after the collision.

The pain was treated as if it were a fracture, and Mr Allen was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

The jury heard recordings of Mr Allen interacting with police on the scene, in which he appeared to be in a stunned state.

Senior Constable Andrew McCall conducted a breathalyser test on the scene, which detected no alcohol present on Mr Allen’s breath.

Officer in charge of Ipswich Forensic Crash Unit Sergeant Darryl Morrison provided an analysis of photos and crash data from the scene.

Both vehicles sustained significant damage, and court heard that the blue Ute Mr Allen was driving belonged to the owners of a house he was building at the time.

The prosecutor noted that the blue Ute’s windows had a particularly dark tint, and said this detail would come into play later in the trial.

The trial continued at 10.30am today (May 18, 2022) for further testimony and a verdict.