Sam Conway appeals conviction over fatal Berkeley Vale crash in stolen Land Rover

Sam Conway – the man jailed for seven years over the fatal crash that killed Central Coast man Darren Hill – has maintained he was not the driver at an appeal hearing.

A man serving a lengthy jail sentence for a fatal head-on crash in a stolen Land Rover at Berkeley Vale has maintained he was not the driver.

Sam Conway faced the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday to appeal his conviction over the fatal crash that killed Central Coast man Darren Hill on Wyong Rd in the early hours of January 15, 2019.

The 29-year-old appeared via audio visual link from Hunter Correctional Centre.

In March 2021. District Court Judge Stephen Norrish sentenced Conway to 11 years’ jail with a non-parole period of seven years after finding him guilty of manslaughter and driving offences during a judge alone trial. He is not eligible for parole until June 2028.

Sam Conway has appealed his conviction over a fatal crash in Berkeley Vale in January 2019. Picture: NSW Police

This sentence was ordered to start in June 2021 after Conway completed a separate sentence over the stabbing of a man in Toowoon Bay in December 2018.

During his manslaughter trial, Conway’s defence argued that Conway was not the driver at the time the Land Rover crashed into Mr Hill’s Kia Rio, however this was quashed when the court was shown vision of him driving through the McDonald’s at Bateau Bay at 3.44am before the fatal crash.

The trial heard Conway was “on the run” from police when he stole a white Land Rover Discovery from a house at Terrigal before being captured on CCTV at McDonalds.

During the appeal on Wednesday, Conway’s defence lawyer maintained that it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that Conway was the driver or that there was not another person who entered the car after he left McDonalds.

“The position remains the same on this application and as far as the grounds of appeal is concerned,” he said.

Darren Hill was killed when a stolen Land Rover Discovery slammed into his Kia Rio on Wyong Rd at Berkeley Vale. Picture: Facebook

“Whether the court could be satisfied the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt in circumstances where it is submitted firstly that there was a reasonable hypothesis that the applicant was not the driver at the time of the collision and secondly that the Crown could not exclude that reasonable hypothesis.”

Conway’s defence said while Conway admitted to being the driver at McDonalds as well as exiting the Land Rover from the driver’s seat after the crash, the court could not accept this as an admission of guilt. He relied on one of Conway’s police interviews where Conway explained to officers that he was thrown to the front of the car in the crash.

He read from Conway’s interview, “I thought I’ve got to get into the back seat and he’s going to crash, I didn’t think into a car. Just thought he was going to crash and I went to hop in and got in between the two seats … it was a massive crash, I’ve gone through to the front.”

Mr Hill was driving home from night shift when he was killed in the crash. Picture: Richard Noone

The court heard he told officers he was knocked out for a few seconds and “ended up on top of the driver” when he came to and opened the driver’s door.

His defence also argued that Conway’s DNA was not on the airbag and that he had admitted to wiping the car down with a towel before the crash as the driver was doing an armed robbery.

“He accepts he was driving the car, just not at the time of the collision,” his lawyer said.

The Crown prosecutor talked about the “significant” piece of the case where Conway lied during police interviews initially telling them that he did not drive the car at all.

She said the most important piece of evidence in the case was the admission he exited the car out the driver’s side.

The driver of the Land Rover Discovery fled on foot after the crash. Picture: Richard Noone

“The Crown does submit he used the towel to wipe over the steering wheel and airbag before fleeing the vehicle,” she said.

The Crown Prosecutor said the overall chronology of events, including Conway being behind the wheel before and after McDonalds, gave little time for another person to enter the car before the crash.

“Looking at the evidence in totality excludes the possibility that anyone else was the driver,” she said. “It’s not technically impossible but the Crown says it’s not likely.”

She finished her submission saying that the two witnesses who gave evidence at the trial that they saw two people in the car were unreliable due to proximity and other factors.

She also said items in the car’s footwell, including sunglasses on the passenger’s seat, did not point to someone being in the passenger seat.

The judgement will be handed down at a later date.