Man charged over deadly crash allegedly called girlfriend minutes before pileup
A labourer charged over a horrific car crash at Baulkham Hills that left a 12-year-old boy dead allegedly rang his girlfriend of one month minutes before the pileup. It comes as The Daily Telegraph can reveal the mother of the boy is yet to be told of his death.
The driver allegedly responsible for a horror multi-car crash that killed a 12-year-old boy and critically injured his mother and sister may have been speeding to meet his new girlfriend for dinner.
As the mother of the boy remains in an induced coma after the crash at Baulkham Hills on Saturday, investigators are probing whether John Pagakis was rushing to a dinner date with his partner.
It is alleged labourer Pagakis, 34, rang his girlfriend of one month minutes before the crash near the M2. He was on his way to meet her for dinner.
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“He called me at 7pm and said ‘babe, I’m on my way, I’ll see you in 20 minutes’” the 26-year-old woman said.
“I never heard back from him after that, he had booked a restaurant and was excited about seeing me, we’ve only been dating a month and saw each other three times a week.
“The police came to my house to interview me, I feel so bad for Yiannis (John).
“I’ve never seen him drive badly, he’s a really nice guy, something must have happened to cause the crash.”
Police allege the road worker was speeding in his Holden Commodore on his way to meet his girlfriend in Bossley Park, 30 minutes drive from where he crashed, when his car became airborne and smashed into six stationary cars as it exited the motorway at 7pm.
It’s believed his Commodore hit a median strip, crossed northbound lanes, hit a second median strip and then the stationary Holden Captiva and a Land Rover.
The 12-year-old boy, a rear passenger in the Captiva carrying a family of four, died at the scene. His father, who was driving, escaped unscathed.
Paramedics rushed the mother and her five-year-old daughter to Westmead Hospital.
The girl was in a serious but stable condition, while her mother is stable in an induced coma last night
“When we told the father his son hadn’t made it, he was sitting on the roadside, beating his chest,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Nathan Sheraton said.
“There is no sugar coating it, this was a nasty, nasty collision. We had to put the mother into an induced coma and rush her and their daughter to hospital.”
Police allege Pagakis fled the scene on foot before arriving at his mother’s northern beaches home seven hours later, scratched and bloodied.
He was arrested in bed at the Narraweena home, 35km from the crash.
Pagakis will spend the next eight weeks in custody after he did not apply for bail yesterday in Parramatta Local Court.
He is facing 10 charges, including dangerous driving causing death and failing to stay and assist after a crash.
“He’s deeply remorseful and it’s a tragic case,” his lawyer Peter Proctor said outside of court.
“He will be in a holding cell now until his case is heard, what’s happened is only now beginning to hit him hard.”
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