Darren Kirwood: Committal hearing begins over fatal Winchelsea crash

A prison officer has fronted court for the first day in a two-day committal hearing over a Winchelsea fatal crash, as the court heard the incident could have claimed a second life.

Darren Kirwood leaves Geelong Court in 2024.

A horror smash in which a mother-of-three was killed could have claimed another victim, a court has heard.

Darren Kirwood, 32, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Monday, for the first day of a two-day-long committal hearing.

Mr Kirwood faces several charges including culpable driving causing death, following a two-car collision on Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Rd on March 9 last year.

Mr Kirwood has yet to enter a plea to the charges.

Dean’s Marsh woman Kylie Doak, 55, was killed in the collision, however much of the hearing on Monday focused on the injuries sustained by her daughter, who was a passenger in her car at the time of the collision.

A previous hearing heard Mr Kirwood, a prison officer, had been returning from a friend’s wedding on the night of the crash.

The court heard Ms Doak’s daughter was admitted to hospital about 11.30pm on March 9 and underwent surgery about midday the next day.

The court heard the woman sustained rib fractures and a “deep” forehead cut, however it was an abdominal injury that was of most concern and required the surgery.

Darren Kirwood has been charged with, among other charges, culpable driving causing the death of 55-year-old Kylie Doak

Dr Maria-Pia Bernardi, who oversaw the treatment, told the court Ms Doak’s daughter sustained a mesenteric injury during the crash.

She explained the mesentery carries blood vessels to the bowel, and a tear put a patient at risk of the organ losing its blood supply.

Barrister Matthew Weinman, for Mr Kirwood, cross-examined Dr Bernardi for an hour, asking questions about the 326-pages of medical notes from the complainant’s admission following the crash and subsequently.

Dr Miaake Moller of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine also gave evidence.

The court heard Dr Moller was asked by the police informant to consider whether the injuries sustained by Ms Doak’s daughter constituted a serious injury, in a legal sense, as opposed to just an injury.

Mr Weinman put to her that she couldn’t say for certain whether the abdominal injury could have developed into a life-threatening injury.

Dr Moller told the court the injury involved a “near full-thickness” tear to the complainant’s bowel.

“The surgical team at the time … thought the risk to be great,” Dr Moller said, stating the risk of the tear becoming a full tear was “at least significant”.

Dr Moller testified that if the injury resulted in a full-tear, and leakage from the bowel, it would have caused “catastrophic overwhelming infection” and been fatal.

The committal hearing, before magistrate Ann McGarvie, continues. 

Originally published as Darren Kirwood: Committal hearing begins over fatal Winchelsea crash