Driver of triple-fatal crash Jordan Brown wishes he died instead of mates
JORDAN Brown, the young man who caused a horrific triple fatal which killed three of his friends as they returned from a drug-fuelled music festival in the bush, says he wish he died instead of his mates.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE young man who caused a horrific triple fatal which killed three of his friends has told Penrith District Court today he wishes he had died instead of his mates.
In the witness box Jordan Brown, 21, recalled the moment he fell asleep behind the wheel causing the devastating crash.
“I suddenly fell asleep, I don’t know how long for ... and woke to seeing one of those fog barriers,” he said.
“I swerved to avoid it and it all just happened so quickly.
“I recall the car being on its side and asking if the boys were all right because the boys were all asleep.
“Then the ambulances came and the first thing I asked was ‘are my friends OK?’ and they said they’re not.
“I honestly wish I had gone that day because they didn’t deserve it,” he said.
“I feel for those families, they’ve gone through too much they don’t deserve it either.”
Brown, from Freshwater, pleaded guilty in February to crashing his mother’s 4WD on the Bells Line of Road after taking ecstasy at the Psyfari music festival in August 2015, killing his three mates Ben Sawyer, 19, Luke Shanahan, 21 and Lachlan Burleigh, 17.
The charge carries a 10-year jail sentence.
The mother of one of the boys killed in the crash pleaded to give “a minimum 10 years” jail for Brown who caused the crash that killed her son as they returned from a drug-fuelled music festival in the bush.
Georgina Sawyer gave her victim impact statement today in Penrith District Court before Brown had his bail revoked until the case returns to court later this month.
“I want justice, three beautiful boys all under 21 and one person’s to blame,” Georgina Sawyer said in the witness box through tears.
“Please give him a minimum of 10 years.”
She explained her older Nathan son had committed suicide years earlier and could not fathom losing another child.
She told of the harrowing moment she woke from an afternoon sleep knowing her son was dead, hours before anyone told her.
“I woke at 4.45pm in an absolute panic. I was shaking,” she said.
“I looked around the house, I was the only one home and I was so frightened and didn’t know why.
“Now I understand why I felt that way, that fright was his soul screaming.
“I had no idea over 100 kids had gathered at Freshwater beach crying.”
She said neither authorities, or members of Brown’s family who she knew, would return her calls to confirm her son was dead in the hours immediately after the accident.
“I rung and I rung and I rung, every one of you knew Ben went to God, not one of you helped me.”
She said police arrived at her door seven-and-a-half hours later.”
Barbara McLaren, 86, was seriously injured when she was hit by the oncoming car.
Brown has admitted to taking ecstasy on the first night of the festival after they arrived around 9pm on a Friday night.
Toxicology reports support wider drug use before he drove home on Sunday, but Brown said he “could not explain” those test results.
The court also heard victim impact statements from Luke Shanahan’s mother and Ms McLaren’s daughter.
The court also heard Brown had his Legal Aid funding briefly revoked after the accident when a Facebook group surfaced, arranging a fundraiser to cover his defence costs.
Brown claimed he withdrew his support for the event out of sympathy for the victims’ families and fears it would jeopardise his funding.
But barrister Dean Robinson for the Crown asked Brown to read a Facebook message Brown had written to the organisers.
“I seriously don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for you guys ... F...... Love you guys,” the message said.
The event did not raise any money for Brown’s defence.
Judge Jeffery McLennan told Brown’s barrister Deone Provera, “When your client came here today he would have regarded it as inevitable he wasn’t going home”.
Brown will be sentenced on April 28.
Former council CEO stayed silent on job cut rumours: Inquiry
A former southwest Sydney council boss conceded he failed to de-escalate a rumour about mass job losses which led to a volatile protest where anti-Islamic chants against the mayor were made.
Parking pain: Business leader warns paid city meters ‘inevitable’
Paid parking is a “bad idea” that will hit workers and those struggling financially the hardest, warns a Port Macquarie business leader after council listed it as an option in a public survey.