Dr Anthony Beasley: US astrophysicist hits biker in Royal National Park
He’s regarded as one of the brightest brains in the world of space science. However, the 55-year-old forgot which country he was in when he drove on the right hand side of the road - leading to a nasty collision with a motorcyclist who was left with multiple broken bones.
St George Shire Standard
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An internationally renowned American astrophysicist smashed into a motorcyclist after driving on the wrong side of the road.
Dr Anthony Beasley told police he was used to driving on the right after hitting the rider in the Royal National Park collision which left his arm and leg shattered.
The motorcyclist needed intricate surgery to reposition the bones involving rods and screws.
Sutherland Court heard the victim was set for further surgery to remove a plate from his elbow in April and was taking painkillers for continuing pain in his arm and femur.
According to the police facts, Beasley told police “He made a mistake … as he is used to driving on the left side of the road in the USA and there were no other vehicles around at the time for reference”.
The Australian-born space scientist, 55, has lived and worked in America for the past 28 years.
He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, immediately admitting to police he had accidentally driven on the wrong side of the road.
He briefly returned from the USA, where he is the director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, to be sentenced on Thursday.
He was disqualified from driving for a period of three years and ordered to serve a two year Community Corrections Order.
About 3pm on July 18, 2019, Beasley was travelling with a female passenger down the popular tourist route.
After making a left turn onto Sir Bertram Steven Drive, Beasley mistakenly drove on the incorrect side of the road for 100m.
At the same time, the victim, a tourist from Estonia, was riding his motorbike along the same stretch of road in the opposite direction.
They only observed each other when the curved road straightened up, when about 50 metres away from one another.
It gave them about 2-3 seconds to react.
Both swerved in the same direction to avoid each other and crashed head on.
The victim flew across the bonnet of Beasley’s car, hitting and smashing the windscreen with his helmet in front of where Beasley sat.
The victim then somersaulted through the air, according to the police facts, before hitting the ground heavily and laying on his back.
At no point did the victim lose consciousness.
Beasley ran out of his car to check on the victim before emergency services were called to the scene and took the victim to St George Hospital.
An off-duty doctor and nurse were also able to assist the victim at the crash site.
Beasley received his Doctorate in Astrophysics from the University of Sydney before he joined National Radio Astronomy Observatory in 1991 and was appointed NRAO Director in 2012.
In 2008, Beasley became the Chief Operating Officer and Project Manager of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).