Kelly Renee Liddicoat stands trial in Maroochydore District Court
Emotions have spilled over in the courtroom after a jury took less than two hours to return its verdict after the trial of a Warana woman charged over the deaths of two young bus mechanics.
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Emotions have spilled over in Maroochydore District Court after the jury returned its verdict in the trial of a woman accused of fatally striking two young bus mechanics with a BMW at Woombye.
She was found guilty of one charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, after allegedly hitting and killing Baringa man Lleyton Bartlee, 22, and Currimundi man Aaron Pitt, 25, who were repairing a broken down bus on Nambour Connection Rd at Woombye on April 21, 2022.
Ms Liddicoat had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Read below for full coverage of the trial, and click here to read the latest on the verdict.
Tuesday marked day seven of the trial, which has now entered its second week.
Day seven: Tuesday, October 17
Defence barrister Mark McCarthy rejected claims his client’s apparent dangerous driving was what caused the deaths of Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt.
In his closing argument on Tuesday, Mr McCarthy responded to what crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks told the jury on Monday that Ms Liddicoat was driving erratically.
He said her driving - seen on dashcam footage to be drifting to the edges of lanes - was simply to get a better look at the traffic ahead of her.
He told the jury Ms Liddicoat was “driving with purpose” and described her smoking and drinking out of a large water bottle while on the phone using one earbud as “multi-tasking”.
Mr McCarthy suggested to the jury that Mr Bartlett had been under the bus to retrieve a part – which was found on the road after the incident – and had gotten out from under the vehicle at the moment Ms Liddicoat drove past.
He said this explained Ms Liddicoat’s statement to police that the two men “came out of nowhere”.
He asked the jury to consider if the evidence convinced them if the crash was “not just a terrible accident”.
Mr McCarthy also rejected claims Ms Liddicoat was adversely affected at the time of the crash, saying she was not showing anything other than obvious symptoms of distress and there wasn’t anything in her system which shouldn’t have been there.
“She was on her medications, she had been told she could drive,” he said.
Judge Michael Williamson began his summing up to the jury, but adjourned the court for the day at 4.15pm.
He will continue his summing up on Wednesday, October 18.
Day six: Monday, October 16
The jury were not called into the courtroom until after lunch on Monday, when Ms Marks gave her closing argument.
Ms Marks argued Ms Liddicoat should not have been driving on the afternoon of the crash.
Ms Liddicoat shook her head in the dock as Ms Marks recalled her manner of driving, both shown in video evidence and from evidence from witnesses.
Ms Marks told the jury Ms Liddicoat “ought to have known not to drive” due the cocktail of medication found in her system, which can cause drowsiness.
She said Ms Liddicoat even said herself the medication made her “groggy”.
Several people in the public gallery kept their heads down as Ms Marks replayed CCTV footage from inside the bus to the jury, which showed the moment the white BMW struck Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt.
Ms Marks pointed out the number of vehicles, including large trucks, which drove past the bus the two young men were repairing, without incident; and pointed out what she said were inconsistencies in Ms Liddicoat’s story.
This included her claims she had “nowhere to go” and that the right lane was full when she saw Mr Pitt and Mr Bartlett, and ended up swerving into the bus.
Ms Marks concluded by arguing Ms Liddicoat struck the two young mechanics because she was distracted, didn’t keep a proper look out, was groggy and was not in a state to drive.
The trial continues on Tuesday, October 17, when Barrister Mark McCarthy will give his closing arguments to the jury.
Day five: Friday, October 13
The jury were sent home early on Friday morning while the defence and prosecution discussed matters with Judge Michael Williamson.
Judge Williamson adjourned the matter for the day just after 10.30am and told the jury he was giving them an “early weekend”.
He apologised for the inconvenience and said there were “some matters (he) needed to attend to”.
The trial is set to continue on Monday, October 16.
Day four: Thursday, October 12
The final witness, an officer from the Sunshine Coast Forensic Crash Unit, continued to give evidence on Thursday morning, which included CCTV footage from inside the broken down bus Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt were repairing the day they were killed.
A number of supporters from the public gallery left the courtroom prior to the video being played.
The courtroom was silent as clips from four cameras appeared on screen simultaneously – three inside the bus and one facing the road in front of it. There was no audio.
Someone wearing a bright yellow work shirt is seen moving around the bus before a fast-moving vehicle is seen going past the side of the bus.
Some cars slow down, and a dark shape is seen on the road in front of the bus. Someone is seen jogging toward the shape just before the video ends.
Barrister Mark McCarthy asked the officer if the BMW, allegedly driven by Ms Liddicoat, had an anti-lock braking system (ABS), which he said yes.
The officer said he was told by BMW, the car’s manufacturer, that they could not get any data from the car after the crash.
Safety triangles, which were found on the bus, had not been used at the scene of the breakdown either.
Mr McCarthy asked the officer about the position of the sun at the time of the crash and if this may have affected anyone’s vision while driving. The officer said there was a degree of “wash out” from the sun in the footage from the scene, but in his opinion, it would not have caused issues.
The officer said he “believed” a “metal implement”, a tool, was found on the ground after the crash.
Ms Marks then asked the officer if a car with ABS could make skid marks on the road, to which he replied yes.
After the officer’s evidence had finished, Ms Marks read out a series of admissions to the jury, which included a warning label for the prescription medication Ms Liddicoat had in her system, warning of drowsiness and urging users not to drive if they feel this way.
The crown then closed its case and Ms Liddicoat declined to give evidence.
The jury was then dismissed for an early lunch and were later adjourned for the day.
Day three: Wednesday, October 11
Two police officers were called to give evidence by crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks, which included audio and body worn camera footage of conversations with Ms Liddicoat shortly after the incident.
The evidence of the first officer, who was off duty at the time of the crash but witnessed it, included an audio recording of a conversation with Ms Liddicoat.
She was heard asking “am I going to be in big trouble?” and if she can call her mum.
“I’ve hurt two guys … they got wiped out,” she says on the recording.
She was recorded saying she did not realise there were two men next to the bus and that they “came out of nowhere from behind the bus”.
She tells the officer the BMW does not belong to her, it belongs to a friend of her boyfriend’s who is overseas.
Ms Liddicoat said in the recording she had taken suboxone from the chemist about half an hour before the crash, and said she had valium and lyrica as well as another medicine.
She began sobbing uncontrollably in the dock as she is heard on the recording saying she “hit the bus” and then “hit (Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt)”.
Barrister Mark McCarthy asked the officer if Ms Liddicoat’s demeanour was from being affected by the prescription drugs, which he disagreed and said she was showing a “stress response”.
The court was temporarily adjourned after the officer’s evidence finished to allow Ms Liddicoat time to recompose herself.
The second officer was from the Sunshine Coast forensic crash unit. His evidence included a video from body worn camera footage of Ms Liddicoat telling another officer she swerved, “lost it” and then hit the bus.
She said in the video she was an ex-drug user and had been clean for five years, and asks if she is going to jail.
Ms Liddicoat then says, “I’m sorry, I’ve got mental health issues”.
Later in the recording she said she is supposed to be able to drive on her medication and this was the first time it had affected her driving.
She tells the officer she had “nowhere to go” after seeing Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt because there were cars to her right.
She later says there should have been safety cones out to protect the two men.
“It was my fault but it wasn’t my fault,” she said on the recording.
Mr McCarthy did not get to cross-examine the second officer before the court was adjourned for the day.
Before lunch time on Wednesday, a forensic pathologist and a forensic physician were called to give evidence by crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks.
There were emotional scenes as the forensic pathologist, who appeared by phone, recounted Mr Bartlett’s and Mr Pitt’s injuries in graphic detail.
The Sunshine Coast Daily has chosen not to share the details due to their confronting nature.
One person in the public gallery left the courtroom in the middle of the evidence, while others were sobbing and holding each other for comfort.
The doctor said Mr Bartlett, who had been struck first, was shoved into Mr Pitt, who was thrown approximately 10 metres in front of the bus. Mr Bartlett was found just in front of it.
Ms Liddicoat sobbed in the dock as barrister Mark McCarthy questioned the doctor, asking where the two men may have been positioned before they were struck.
A forensic physician who tested Ms Liddicoat’s blood after the incident told the court that there was no alcohol detected, however there were a number of prescription drugs including valium, Seroquel and lyrica.
He said these medicines affect the nervous system and when used together can cause sedation, slow down the brain and impair Judgement; however tolerance can be built over time.
According to the physician Ms Liddicoat said she felt “groggy” due to her medication while being interviewed at the scene.
He said she was affected by the medication at the time of the incident.
Mr McCarthy asked the doctor if adrenaline could have also impacted the way Ms Liddicoat presented herself at the scene.
The doctor said it was possible, and if it was true it meant her slurring her words and delayed responses may not have been the result of the drugs in her system.
Mr McCarthy asked the doctor if an increase in adrenaline could have accounted for the way Ms Liddicoat presented herself at the scene, which he said made it less likely to interpret her being negatively affected by the drugs.
A further two witnesses, both who saw the BMW on Nambour Connection Rd at the time of the crash, gave evidence saying the BMW was seen driving “erratically” and sitting too close to the solid white line on the outside of the left lane near where the bus was.
Mr McCarthy quizzed both witnesses on their statements to police.
Day two: Tuesday, October 10
On Tuesday, several witnesses to the crash gave evidence about what they saw when the duo were hit by the white BMW.
This included a man and a woman who were among the first on scene.
The man, who was travelling behind the BMW allegedly driven by Ms Liddicoat, told the court he saw one person “flying through the air” after they were struck and immediately pulled over to help.
Ms Liddicoat held her head in her hands as the witness recounted checking on one of the men and recalled saying to him “hang on, I’ll be back” as he went to check on the other man.
He said the other mechanic was found lying “under the bus”.
The woman, who was a registered nurse, recalled seeing a man on the ground “face down” and assisted him while a woman, alleged to be Ms Liddicoat, introduced herself as the driver of the BMW.
The woman described Ms Liddicoat as “agitated” and claiming she was doing 40 km/h and the two men had “jumped out in front of her”.
She claimed Ms Liddicoat was slurring her words.
Defence barrister Mark McCarthy asked the woman if she, as a registered nurse, had experience with patients taking medicine that affects their speech.
The woman said she had general nursing training where this was the case, but at the time was of the opinion something was affecting her speech.
“I did not consider there was more than that at the time,” she said.
Another witness, who was sitting in a truck across the road from the incident recalled seeing a “flash of white” and then an “almighty bang”.
A man who was travelling behind the BMW gave evidence saying other drivers left a large gap between the car because of the way it was driving. Mr McCarthy suggested other drivers were simply being “courteous”, however the witness disagreed.
A bus driver gave evidence saying there was “not enough room” for Mr Pitt and Mr Bartlett to be next to the bus safely, but another witness, a woman, said the pair were “well off the road”. Both witnesses were heading in the opposite direction to the crash, the court was told.
The woman recalled seeing Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt “laughing” with each other as they repaired the bus, before she heard a “thud”.
Day one: Monday, October 9
The public gallery was full for the first day of Ms Liddicoat’s trial, with supporters for both Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt’s families as well as a small number of supporters for Ms Liddicoat.
Ms Liddicoat sobbed while details of the fatal crash were relayed.
Ms Marks said in her opening statements to the jury that Ms Liddicoat was driving from Mooloolaba to see her boyfriend at the time of the crash, and was driving “groggy” with a number of prescription drugs in her system.
These included suboxone and valium, the court was told.
Ms Marks told the jury the medication affected her driving and alleged Ms Liddicoat had not kept a proper look out and failed to keep a safe distance between her car and the broken down bus.
Several witnesses recalled seeing Mr Bartlett, who was crouching next to the bus, and Mr Pitt, who was standing next to Mr Bartlett, “fly through the air” after the crash, she said.
One witness, who pulled over after seeing the crash, told the court Ms Liddicoat was slurring her words and claimed Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt “jumped out in front of (her) car”.
Ms Marks said Ms Liddicoat told a police officer she was doing about 40 km/h, when she “all of a sudden saw a fluoro shirt” and swerved, claiming to hit the bus and in turn, the two men.
Mr McCarthy told the jury, in response to Ms Marks’ opening statement, to pay attention to the evidence and asked whether Ms Liddicoat’s alleged dangerous driving caused Mr Bartlett and Mr Pitt’s deaths.
Two witnesses to the crash were called, one of which provided dashcam footage leading up to the crash where a white BMW, allegedly driven by Ms Liddicoat, struck the two mechanics.
In the footage, the white BMW is seen drifting toward the edge of the lane and at one point stopping altogether while the car in front of her – which was recording the footage – drove away.
One witness alleged Ms Liddicoat was smoking and drinking from a large water bottle while also apparently talking on the phone.
Ms Marks said Ms Liddicoat claimed she was on the phone using her earbuds, but did not have it in her hand.
The trial continues on Friday, October 13.
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