Ken Grant claims sleep walking condition was to blame for fatal hit-and-run
Medical experts in the trial of Ken Grant- father of ex-police minister Troy Grant - have concluded an ‘’alcohol blackout’’ could be to blame for a hit-and-run fatal. Watch arrest footage.
Newcastle
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A medical expert has concluded that an “alcohol blackout’’ would have explained the behaviour and lack of memory Ken Grant experienced on the night police allege he hit and killed a friend in the Hunter Valley in 2019.
Neurologist Dr David Rosen told the court Mr Grant did not exhibit symptoms of Transient Global Amnesia (TGA), a neurological condition which sees temporary memory loss, which the defence say was part of the reason he was ‘’not acting voluntary’’ behind the wheel.
The defence case is also based on that Mr Grant suffered sleep apnoea and was sleep walking on the night of the fatal crash which means he couldn’t be made responsible for his actions.
The 72-year-old former police officer - the father of ex-police minister Troy Grant - is on trial in Newcastle’s District Court, accused of being drunk behind the wheel when he ran down Sydney scientist Tony Greenfield in his Mazda ute as they left a Christmas party at Bolwarra, just outside of Maitland, on November 30.
He pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death; failing to stop and assist; police pursuit and mid-range drink driving.
Dr Rosen told the court on Friday even someone with TGA could drive a motor vehicle ‘’properly’’ and it didn’t affect manual skills, cognitive capacity or judgement.
‘’Everything happening in the present moment is normal, that is the key. It (TGA) doesn’t affect other abilities, it impacts on their memory,’’ he said.
‘’Patients with TGA often drive themselves home. The weaving on the road cannot be explained by TGA.’’
Crown Prosecutor Lee Carr SC asked if alcohol could account for Mr Grant’s unsteadiness in driving, to which the doctor replied, ‘’yes’’.
Dr Rosen also referred to recent MRI scans of Mr Grant and cited there was no evidence to suggest vascular disease or structural abnormality which could have been an explanation.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard that a number of witnesses at the party had observed Mr Grant “hammered’’ and “well and truly gone’’ after he had consumed beer and red wine that night before leaving at around 11.30pm.
Another expert witness, pharmacologist Dr Judith Perl confirmed the presence of two prescription drugs recorded in Mr Grant’s system at the time of the alleged offence, but that impairment of his driving was ‘’highly improbable’’ with such low doses.
Defence barrister Phillip Boulten argued the drugs and alcohol in his system could have interfered with his sleep apnoea, and according to the product manufacturers, there was claims of potential effects when combined, but Dr Perl noted there was no scientific evidence for impairment.
‘’I’d expect high blood alcohol, alcohol would by far have much greater effect than the drugs,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, a third medical expert Dr Tuly Rosenfeld told the court Mr Grant’s observed behaviours could be a sigh of early dementia and that sleep walking could have been ‘’exaggerated by his intoxication’’ that night.
‘’It was though he was in an absent state, it could be a reasonable explanation,’’ he told the court.
Mr Grant’s son Troy – former Nationals MP and NSW police minister under the then-Berejiklian government – is set to give evidence of his father’s medical history and “background facts” in the trial on Monday.
Earlier
Expert ‘doubts’ sleep walkers can drive in trial of ex-Police Minister’s dad
An expert Crown witness has told a court he doesn’t think Ken Grant - the father of ex-police minister Troy Grant - was suffering the effects of sleep walking when police allege he hit and killed a friend in the Hunter Valley in 2019.
The 72-year-old former police officer is on trial in Newcastle’s District Court, accused of being drunk behind the wheel when he ran down Sydney scientist Tony Greenfield in his Mazda ute as they left a Christmas party at Bolwarra, just outside of Maitland.
He pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death; failing to stop and assist; police pursuit and mid-range drink driving.
Defence are trying to prove Mr Grant suffered from Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) a neurological condition which sees temporary memory loss, suffered sleep apnoea and had a sleep walking condition, which meant he was “not acting voluntary’’ whilst driving and therefore not responsible.
Dr Anup Desai told the court he thought Mr Grant’s conditions were “manageable’’ at the time of the accident and he was “fully controlled’’ having no effect on his mental state.
“I doubt in my personal opinion that sleep walkers can drive cars, but certainly not drive significant distances,’’ Dr Desai said.
He said there was no evidence Mr Grant had been asleep at the party before he left and referred to his observations of alcohol use and behaviour prior to leaving just before 11.30pm.
“He needs to be asleep for 30-40 minutes to then go into slow wave sleep and he had extremely long periods of confusion which is inconsistent with sleep walking activity,’’ he said.
“Alcohol can provide an alternative explanation.’’
On day one of the trial, the court heard that a number of witnesses at the party had observed Mr Grant “hammered’’ and “well and truly gone’’ after he had consumed beer and red wine that night.
One witness said he was staggering all over the place and was “extremely intoxicated”.
Defence barrister Phillip Boulten told the court Mr Grant had a family history of sleep walking and had in his 20s and 50s exhibited numerous episodes, on one occasion getting out of bed, walking to the beach, getting in the water and coming back home wet.
He noted to Dr Desai while it was unusual for people to experience sleep walking in their adult life, it did happen, to which he agreed.
He also referred to his alcohol use on the night, flagging that it could have potentially exacerbated his sleep walking episodes.
“Alcohol has been thought to increase sleep walking episodes, and increasing slow wave sleep do you agree?’’ Mr Boulten said.
“Yes,’’ Dr Desai answered.
But he did add that the literature surrounding alcohol as a trigger for sleep walking was limited and it was a controversial area where experts say literature can be inconclusive.
“I don’t think a sleep walking driver exists,’’ Dr Desai added.
“But you don’t know,’’ Mr Boulten said. “No,’’ he replied.
Mr Grant’s son Troy – former Nationals MP and NSW police minister under the then-Berejiklian government – is set to give evidence of his father’s medical history and “background facts” in the trial on Wednesday.
Earlier
Ex-Police Minister’s dad suffered ‘sleep walking’ condition
A court has heard Kenneth Wayne Grant — the father of former NSW Police minister Troy Grant — had a “gross sleep walking” condition which could have been responsible for a drunk fatal hit-and-run in the Hunter Valley in 2019.
Defence will try to prove the 72-year-old former police officer suffered from Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) a neurological condition where there can be sudden episodes of memory loss.
The court heard it would explain that he was “not acting voluntary” whilst driving and could not be held responsible when police allege Mr Grant Snr hit and killed friend Tony Greenfield, 62, with his Mazda ute as they left the same party at Bolwarra, just outside of Maitland, on November 30.
Mr Grant Snr has pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death; failing to stop and assist; police pursuit and mid-range drink driving.
In day one of the judge-alone trial in Newcastle District Court on Monday, Crown Prosecutor Lee Carr SC said a number of witnesses at the party had observed Mr Grant Snr “hammered” and “well and truly gone” after consuming beer and red wine at the party, which had about 80 guests, that night.
The court heard one witness said he was staggering all over the place and was “extremely intoxicated”, before Mr Grant Snr left the party after 11pm.
Mr Greenfield and his wife were walking along Flat Rd in a bicycle lane to their accommodation after the party when the court heard he was hit by a vehicle from behind, propelling him 20 metres forward.
Triple-0 was called and he was taken to John Hunter Hospital but early the next day passed away from his injuries.
The court heard the driver of that Mazda ute was Mr Grant Snr who failed to stop after the collision and was observed to be swerving all over the road, before he mounted a median strip.
Just two kilometres from the crash scene, a highway patrol car that was driving in the opposite direction – but was unaware of the crash – tried to stop Mr Grant Snr’s vehicle, which had two flat tyres, and ended up on a low-speed pursuit with police.
The court heard when the vehicle finally stopped, Mr Grant Snr announced his son was the ex-police minister before saying “I am pissed”.
Police observed him to be affected by alcohol, slurring his speech and unsteady on his feet, as he struggled with police before being arrested, a breath test indicating he was more than twice the legal limit.
A mandatory blood test following the crash also recorded traces of prescription medicine.
The court heard during an interview with police he said he had no memory of the collision, but that DNA swabs of his vehicle found it matched that of Mr Greenfield.
Mr Carr said there was no dispute Mr Grant Snr was driving the vehicle, but that the Crown had to establish his actions were voluntary, and that a sleep walking condition did not affect his driving.
“Patients (with TGA) can remain fully communicative and alert throughout tasks such as driving,” Mr Carr said.
“I expect the doctor (expert witness) will tell you he was not affected by sleep apnoea and he was not in a state of sleep walking on that relevant evening.”
Defence barrister Phillip Boulten went on to explain that expert witnesses who examined Mr Grant Snr soon after the crash would offer evidence that he was suffering from TGA, which had in-fact affected his driving.
He told the court his son Troy Grant – former Nationals MP and NSW police minister under the then-Berejiklian government – would be called to give evidence of his father’s medical history and “background facts”.
“The history of the accused can be supported by his family that he has a history of “gross sleep walking” which has in the past included irrigating a field as a farmer whilst asleep, and would also explain some cognitive impairments he had at time of the accident,” Mr Boulten said.
“If he is not voluntary driving he wouldn’t be responsible.”
The trial continues.
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