Timothy Wright not guilty of careless driving in Bruce Highway truck-crash trial

There has been a sensational resolution to a protracted court case stemming from a high-profile traffic crash on the Bruce Highway north of Townsville.

Personnel from Queensland Fire and Emergency Service, Rural Fire, Police and Ambulance work seamlessly to free a 27-year-old Ingham man from the wreckage of his Volvo truck on the Bruce Highway at Yuruga, 20km south of Ingham on September 5 last year. Picture: Cameron Bates

There has been a sensational resolution to a protracted court case stemming from a high-profile traffic crash on the Bruce Highway north of Townsville.

In a verdict delivered in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Hinchinbrook man Timothy Graeme Wright, 28, was found not guilty of careless driving in relation to the three-vehicle accident at Yuruga north of Townsville on September 5 last year.

Defence lawyer Darren Robinson said the verdict was another good result for newly established Townsville-based Salt Legal.

“Our client is relieved that this ordeal is over and he’s very appreciative of his representation in not accepting the police version (of facts) that he was in the wrong.”

Mr Wright suffered 11 broken ribs, three slipped vertebrae and nerve damage to his spine in the accident and was airlifted to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition.

Timothy Graeme Wright, 27, at the Ingham Magistrates Court on Thursday, January 26. Picture: Cameron Bates

During a hearing in the Ingham Magistrates Court in August, the Queensland Police Service prosecution played Mr Wright’s dashcam footage of the accident.

The footage showed a B-double truck and a Ford Ranger screeching to a surprise stop on a straight section of the Bruce Highway in a 100km/h speed zone.

Photos from the scene of an accident involving two trucks and a utility vehicle at Yuruga on the Bruce Highway between Townsville and Ingham. Two men were badly injured. Picture: Cameron Bates

It shows Mr Wright, travelling about four seconds behind both vehicles in a fully laden 21-tonne mud truck, colliding with the rear of the Ranger before veering on to the left verge of the highway.

Photos from the scene of an accident involving two trucks and a utility vehicle at Yuruga on the Bruce Highway between Townsville and Ingham. Two men have been badly injured. Picture: Cameron Bates

Photos from the scene of an accident involving two trucks and a utility vehicle at Yuruga on the Bruce Highway between Townsville and Ingham. Two men have been badly injured. Picture: Cameron Bates

Mr Robinson said Magistrate Richard Lehmann, in a reserved decision, ruled that he did not believe that Mr Wright’s actions during the fateful incident constituted dangerous driving given all the circumstances.

Photos from the scene of an accident involving two trucks and a utility vehicle at Yuruga on the Bruce Highway between Townsville and Ingham. Two men have been badly injured. Picture: Cameron Bates

Photos from the scene of an accident involving two trucks and a utility vehicle at Yuruga on the Bruce Highway between Townsville and Ingham. Two men have been badly injured. Picture: Cameron Bates

“That being a B-double truck heavily applying brakes and a Ford Ranger heavily applying brakes with only seconds for (my client) to make a decision,” he said.

“In all of the circumstances it was not unreasonable, his actions, … so it’s a good result for him.”

Mr Wright, who has not suffered any lasting long-term injury as a result of the accident, welcomed the birth of his first child before he was charged and put through the ordeal of going to trial.

“He’s only a young person and never experienced anything like this before,” Mr Robinson said.

Originally published as Timothy Wright not guilty of careless driving in Bruce Highway truck-crash trial