Ken Grant found guilty of hit-and-run near Maitland in 2019, which killed Tony Greenfield
Ken Grant, the father of ex-police minister Troy Grant, is facing possible time behind bars after being found guilty of running down a friend while drunk as he left a Christmas party in the Hunter Valley.
Newcastle
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The father of ex-police minister Troy Grant is facing possible time behind bars after being found guilty of running down a friend while drunk as he left a Christmas party in the Hunter Valley.
Kenneth Wayne Grant, 72, has been on trial for a hit and run which killed Sydney scientist Tony Greenfield in his Mazda ute at Bolwarra, just outside of Maitland, on November 30, 2019.
He pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death; failing to stop and assist and police pursuit, while there was also a related drink driving charge.
But Judge Hatzistergos handed down his verdict at Sydney’s Downing Centre on Friday and found Mr Grant guilt of all three counts.
“It was not reasonable to find he was sleep walking, abhorrent driving can be explained by alcohol and also memory loss by alcohol,” Judge Hatzistergos said.
The defence case was based on that Mr Grant had suffered from sleep apnoea, and transient global amnesia (TGA), a temporary memory loss condition, and was sleep walking - a state of somnambulism - on the night of the crash, which meant he was “not acting voluntary’’ whilst driving and therefore not responsible.
Mr Grant’s son Troy Grant - former Nationals MP and NSW police minister under the then-Berejiklian government - gave evidence that his father, in the lead up to the fatal crash, had a significant decline in his health, dressing disorderly and exhibited “deterioration” and “forgetfulness”.
He told the court his father’s sleep walking was a frequent part of family discussions and on one occasion, when he was 14, his father had tried to climb out the bedroom window in the middle of the night and go for a swim.
But the Crown was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Grant was in fact not sleep walking that night, rather that he driving dangerously while drunk behind the wheel.
A medical expert concluded that an “alcohol blackout’’ would have explained the behaviour and lack of memory Ken Grant experienced on the night.
The court heard Mr Grant consumed three schooners of full strength beer and up to four glasses of red wine at the party, and witnesses had recalled he was staggering, slurring his speech and incoherent.
One witness detailed how the 72-year-old was nodding off on a chair while drinking red wine and there was talk that his had lost his pants and nearly feel through glass doors because he was “extremely intoxicated” before he left the party at around 11.30pm.
The court heard Mr Greenfield and his wife were walking along Flat Rd in a bicycle lane to their accommodation after the party when 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 Mr Grant failed to stop after the collision and was observed to be swerving all over the road, before he mounted a median strip and eventually stopped following a low-speed pursuit with police.
The 72-year-old announced his son was the ex-police minister before saying “I am pissed”, with a breath test indicating he was more than twice the limit.
During an interview with police Mr Grant said he had no memory of the collision, but that DNA swabs of his vehicle found it matched that of Mr Greenfield.
The matter will come back to court in February for a sentence hearing.
EARLIER
Sleep walking defence ’not reasonable’: prosecutor
A Crown prosecutor has told a court it was “not reasonable” to conclude that Ken Grant was sleep walking on the night he was allegedly responsible for a hit-and-run in the Hunter Valley in 2019, rather that he was drunk.
“His course of driving, the collision and amnesia was a result of ingestion of alcohol on that night,” Lee Carr SC said.
Mr Grant, the father of former NSW Police Minister Troy Grant, appeared via video link at Sydney’s District Court on Monday.
The 72-year-old is on trial for 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 has pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death; failing to stop and assist; police pursuit and mid-range drink driving.
In closing submissions, Mr Carr said it would be an “extremely unusual occurrence” that Mr Grant was sleep walking at the age of 70, despite a previous history, and that his evidence of falling asleep at the wheel was very “scant”.
“There is no mention of a sleep walking episode past the 1970s,” Mr Carr added.
“Not a reasonable proposition that the accused fell asleep or was sleep walking. His driving and memory can be explained by alcohol.
“The Crown suggests that a state of somnambulism (sleep walking) is a speculative state.”
Mr Carr referred to police body worn footage which captured Mr Grant’s arrest and that he was observed to be swerving all over the road, before he mounted a median strip and eventually stopped following a low-speed pursuit with police, announcing his son was the ex-police minister before saying “I am pissed”.
“All those point to somebody who was aware of his conduct, aware of being followed by police, all coupled with other factors, go strongly to speaking against being in an somnambulism (sleep walking) state.”
The defence case is based on that Mr Grant suffered from sleep apnoea, and transient global amnesia (TGA), a temporary memory loss condition, and was sleep walking on the night of the crash.
Defence barrister Phillip Boulten told the court his client was “not acting voluntarily’’ behind the wheel, therefore couldn’t be made responsible.
“It is an issue of voluntariness and onus of proof. It is a reasonable possibility,” Mr Boulten told the court.
He said the fact Mr Grant couldn’t remember the fatal collision, and had a gap in his memory, may have been due to a sleep walking state, combined with a history of sleep walking.
“Leaves open why is it the accused can’t remember and where somnambulism (sleep walking) comes into play,” Mr Boulten said.
He also referred to evidence of discrepancies between the breath and blood alcohol concentrations and that Mr Grant expressed his intention to stay overnight at the party, bringing his sleep apnoea machine, stretcher and pillow.
“The accused was acting uncharacteristic, he had prepared to stay overnight, so why is it he got into the car, is there another explanation other than being drunk,” he added.
“Cannot rule out sleep walking was instigated due to his sleep apnoea.”
During the trial it was heard Mr Grant’s health saw a significant decline, and he had exhibited “absentmindedness’’ and “deterioration’’ in his decision making ability.
His son, Troy Grant said his father’s sleep walking was a frequent part of the family discussion, including trying to go for a swim in the middle of the night before getting back into bed when he was younger.
Some medical experts also concluded Mr Grant had suffered an ‘’alcohol blackout’’ and that would explain the behaviour and lack of memory on the night of the fatal crash, and that driving impairment with TGA, with a combined low dose of prescription drugs, was ‘’highly improbable’’.
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.
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 trial will continue on Friday.
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