Bayside Labor councillor Christopher Saravinovski overturns McDonald’s car park crash conviction, pleads not guilty

A southern Sydney councillor who missed court and was convicted for causing a crash in a McDonald’s car park has successfully overturned the decision, but his legal woes are far from over. Here’s the latest.

Bayside Labor councillor Christopher Saravinovski leaves Sutherland Local Court on Thursday. Picture: Elizabeth Pike

A newly-elected southern Sydney councillor who missed court and was convicted for causing a crash in a McDonald’s car park has successfully had the decision overturned.

Christopher Saravinovski, 21, fronted Sutherland Local Court on Thursday where he submitted an annulment application almost two months after he was found guilty of failing to reverse safely.

On that occasion in September, Saravinovski’s name was called out three times during the day before Magistrate Holly Kemp convicted Saravinovski and fined him $201 in his absence.

The court previously heard Saravinovski allegedly reversed and collided into another car at the McDonald’s car park in Taren Point about 6pm on August 11, 2023.

However, according to his submissions, Saravinovski claimed the other driver was to blame as they did not wait for him to reverse and “swung wide to go around him,” causing the collision.

Saravinovski pleaded not guilty to the charge. Picture: Elizabeth Pike

On Thursday, Saravinovski attended court dressed in a suit, vest and red tie accompanied by his lawyer Nasser Hamowi.

Mr Hamowi said Saravinovski received a letter from Transport NSW earlier in the year informing him the charge would be withdrawn and the offence “stricken from the record”.

He further submitted his client was misinformed and thought the matter would not proceed after Saravinovski successfully appealed a licence suspension in August for travelling more than 20km/h over the limit, disobeying road markings and for allegedly failing to reverse safely in the McDonald’s car park.

At that time, the Transport NSW prosecutor noted the reversing offence had been lifted from Saravinovski’s traffic record according to the letter, which meant “not enough demerit points (had been) lost to warrant a suspension”.

The legal back-and-forth relates to an alleged crash at a McDonald's car park last year.

On Thursday, Magistrate Andrews accepted the submissions and annulled the conviction after being presented with a record of the correspondence between Transport NSW and Saravinovski.

Mr Hamowi entered a not guilty plea to the failing to reverse safely charge on Saravinovski’s behalf and tried to have the matter resolved.

However, Mr Andrews set the matter over for six weeks for representations to be made in response to the plea.

Saravinovski left court wearing a face mask and made a beeline to a black car waiting for him at the kerb, driven by a friend who referred to himself as Saravinovski’s “Uber driver”.

Saravinovski will return to court on January 23.