Budgewoi: QLD man Roger Ian Richardson charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm
Court delays in the case of a speeding driver, who was on cannabis and alcohol when he ploughed head-on with another car, have infuriated a victim involved in the crash.
Central Coast
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A man who has pleaded guilty to a horror smash on the Central Coast, which left two people with fractured vertebrae, has been given more time to get his own further medical assessments.
Roger Ian Richardson, 53, of Ipswich in south east Queensland, faced Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday where he was due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Instead his lawyer told the court she had only learned that morning Richardson had himself suffered a “mild brain injury” in the crash and required more time to have his condition assessed.
She also told the court she had requested a colleague to organise a psychological report but due to some “confusion” the report was compiled for the purposes of a mental health defence rather than a sentence hearing.
Richardson’s solicitor threw herself “at the mercy of the court” for a further adjournment to get her client further assessed and to take instructions on how he would plead to a second count of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm to another victim — one of his passengers — injured in the shocking crash.
But it came as cold comfort to the 64-year-old female driver of the car Richardson ploughed into, who had travelled down to court from Budgewoi — still in a leg brace and with visible other scars — to read her victim impact statement.
Outside court she said Richardson should be judged on his actions leading up to and causing the crash, rather than any subjective matters that might have arisen since his offending.
“It has had a domino effect on me and my family and the whole community that I’ve been living in for 30 years,” she said.
“I was in a neck brace for 12 weeks with a fractured neck and it’s still in a lot of pain. My whole life has gone to crap through no fault of my own. It’s had a huge impact.”
An agreed set of facts states Richardson was squatting in his partner’s van in the Budgewoi Beach car park when he went for a drive with two passengers, aged 47 and 48 in his white Ford Falcon XR6 on Friday, April 18.
About 6.45pm Richardson lost control as he went round a sweeping right hand bend past Lakes Surf Life Saving Club and crossed onto the wrong side of the road into the 64-year-old woman’s sedan.
Richardson’s male passenger later told police Richardson was “showing off” while independent witnesses told investigators the car was “flying, driving really fast”.
Richardson’s female passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the wreckage and suffered a nasal fracture, scapula fracture, multiple spinal fractures, pelvic fractures, fluid accumulation around her pelvis and a significant leg wound.
The female driver of the other car suffered a shattered ankle, fractured sternum, fractured ribs and spinal fractures.
The Hunter Crash Investigation Unit attended and established Richardson was travelling an estimated 150km/h in the 80km/h zone.
“The accused participated in an electronically recorded interview where he stated he had consumed three Extra Dry beers, two cans of Jack Daniels double strength and cola and one can of Jim Beam and cola,” the facts state.
“The accused also stated he has smoked cannabis prior to the collision.”
He was adjourned to September 9 for sentence.
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