Jordan Andrew Zell, 21, from Loganholme to stand trial for Eagleby car surfing crash

A young Logan driver will stand trial after his friend was allegedly drunkenly “surfing” on his car in thongs after a party and fell, seriously injuring himself.

Jordan Andrew Zell outside Beenleigh Magistrates Court

A young Logan driver will face trial after his friend was seriously injured when he fell while allegedly drunkenly “surfing” on his car in thongs, while holding a bottle of alcohol, after a party.

Jordan Andrew Zell, 21, faced Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Friday, June 2 charged with one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm and one count of driving over the alcohol limit.

He will stand trial after a magistrate decided it was a matter for a jury to consider.

The court heard that on October 16, 2021 Loganholme’s Mr Zell was at a party in Eagleby with friends.

He left the party in his black Subaru Forester with a few friends who were passengers in the car.

The court heard one friend climbed on top of the car and laid down, spread out on the roof. He stayed on top of the car and was not injured.

It is alleged that as Mr Zell was about to take off, the man allegedly jumped on the back of the car in thongs, and stood up — with one hand holding a bottle of Little Fat Lamb and the other holding the roof racks.

Mr Zell allegedly drove down Eagle Drive, Eagleby, for 290m at 40-50km/h when suddenly the victim fell from the back of his car.

Witnesses told the court they heard a loud thud and yelled to stop the car.

The alleged victim fell into a gutter and was taken to hospital with permanent brain injuries — he has since needed care.

The court heard Mr Zell allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.08 per cent and had marijuana in his system.

His defence lawyer Mitch Rawlings argued there was no case to answer as Mr Zell did not know the alleged victim was on the back of his car.

Mr Rawlings also argued the driving was in no way dangerous or contributed to the fall.

Magistrate Mark Howden said it will be a question for the jury.

“He’s driving at 50kmh with somebody on his roof and somebody on the back,” he said.

“In my view, if Mr Zell looked in his rear vision mirror he would have seen the victim standing there.

“These inferences are open and are ultimately jury issues and therefore the evidence is significant to put Mr Zell on trial.”

The matter was committed to a trial with a jury with a date yet to be decided.