Court update on Clinton Benjamin Leisha’s manslaughter charge

A man accused of killing a beloved great grandmother in a fatal crash has had his case mentioned in court for the first time in seven months. Read the latest development here.

Dianne Herbener is being remembered by her family for her strong work ethic and big personality.

A man accused of killing a beloved great grandmother in a fatal crash has had his charges mentioned in the Supreme Court for the first time this week.

Mount Morgan’s Clinton Benjamin Leisha, 37, is accused of driving his Nissan Navara along Razorback Rd at Bouldercombe on February 19, 2024, when it collided head-on with Dianne and Peter Herbener’s Mazda 323.

Both Dianne and her 73-year-old husband Peter – who was driving at the time – were transported to Rockhampton Hospital.

Dianne tragically succumbed to her injuries on February 24.

Mr Leisha has been charged over the incident with two of those charges presented to the Supreme Court in Rockhampton this morning - one of manslaughter and one of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm before leaving the scene.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said she was waiting on the outline of alleged facts the Crown was relying on before she met with her client to discuss the case.

Court documents state that police allege Mr Leisha was “driving aggressively” and had overtaken two vehicles travelling southbound on Razorback Road while three other vehicles were travelling north.

Police further allege the head-on collision took place along a straight section of the road leading into a blind right-hand bend with continuous double white lines and a speed limit of 80km/hr.

At the time of the incident police alleged Mr Leisha was “observed assisting motorists to collect and place unknown personal belongings into a backpack before he fled the scene on foot towards Mount Morgan”.

Mr Leisha was located in Mount Morgan by police after a search and taken into police custody on February 19.

He was also charged with two counts of driver fail to remain at incident, and one count each of driving an unregistered vehicle, driving an uninsured vehicle, driving without a licence repeat offender, driving a vehicle with false registration plates, enter premises and commit indictable offence by break and receiving tainted property.

Those charges will next be mentioned in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on June 27.

No pleas have been entered.

He is currently in custody at Capricornia Correctional Centre.

Mr Leisha’s Supreme Court charges were adjourned to May 2.