Matthias Ungemach: Olympian in court over alleged hit and run death of Freshwater’s Tony Plati
The former Olympian who has been tied to the alleged hit and run which killed a man in Freshwater earlier this year, appeared at Manly Local Court on Wednesday. See the latest details here.
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A former Olympian and head Mosman rowing coach has been tied to an alleged hit and run which resulted in the death of a beloved resident on the northern beaches.
Matthias Ungemach, 52, of Curl Curl appeared at Manly Local Court on Wednesday after being charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and driving in a dangerous manner, fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing death, and negligent driving occasioning death.
The alleged incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning on February 22, when Tony Plati was on his regular morning walk in Freshwater.
Emergency services were called at 5.45am after reports a pedestrian, Mr Plati, had been hit on Oliver St, with critical injuries but he died later in hospital.
It led to investigators raiding Mosman Rowing Club where they seized Ungeman’s VW Amarok Ute and a boat trailer.
Ungemach was arrested on July 9 but was released on bail shortly after.
Court papers reveal Ungemach was represented by lawyer Brian Wrench on Wednesday when his matter was for mention, with the matter adjourned “for service of brief” on October 22.
The former Olympic Rower made “certain admissions” and made himself available to police the day after he became aware of the incident, according to documents tendered in Manly Local Court.
According to court documents Ungemach’s lawyer made a number of points to Magistrate Michelle Goodwin in a push for bail.
It was mentioned he has “strong community ties” and “has been co-operating” with no criminal history or major traffic offences.
It was also noted Ungemach went to police the day after he “became aware of the incident” and there was correspondence from his legal representatives as early as February.
The magistrate also wrote that Ungemach’s defence said there had been no evidence directly referred to in facts over the manner of his Ungemach’s driving.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Goodwin also wrote down that the prosecution opposed bail for a number of reasons including the likelihood of a custodial sentence and because there was strong evidence including CCTV and a witness.
Police documents, also note a large amount of CCTV is available and various forensic analysis has been concluded”.
Ungemach came to Australia in 2002 and is a former Olympic rower. He is married to fellow Olympian Judith Ungemach, born Zeidler, who won Olympic gold in the women’s eight in Seoul in 1988 and bronze in Barcelona in 1992.