Michael Read: Bega Concrete Tanks truck driver charged after Brown Mountain crash

A truck driver and his employer have been charged after a crash, which allegedly uncovered 232 breaches of heavy vehicle laws.

Michael Read, who allegedly caused the crash on Brown Mountain.

A truck driver accused of badly damaging a car in south-east NSW has faced court for the first time since he was arrested and charged over the crash.

Bega Concrete Tanks truck driver Michael Read, 48, faced Bega Local Court on Tuesday over the incident on Brown Mountain.

The Bega man is yet to enter pleas to two counts of working more than the standard maximum time as a solo driver, causing a minor risk.

He is also yet to plead to charges of not recording required information after starting work, not recording an odometer reading as prescribed, and not recording prescribed information in a written work diary.

Documents tendered to the court allege the 48-year-old truck driver was moving materials for the Bega-based company on the afternoon of May 15.

Michael Read appeared in the Bega Local Court on Tuesday.

Police allege Read was driving a truck along the Snowy Mountains Highway, on Brown Mountain, when he allegedly lost control of the heavy vehicle, tipping it to one side and crashing into another car travelling in the opposite direction.

Emergency services attended the scene shortly after, where the driver of the car – a 24-year-old man – was assessed and found to be uninjured.

Michael Read outside Bega Local Court.

However, the young driver’s car was described as badly damaged.

Read was arrested and taken to Bega Police Station.

He was issued a 24-hour driving ban before he was charged and issued a court attendance notice.

The court heard on Tuesday that following further investigations by police, Read’s employer, Bega Concrete Tanks, was also charged with a number of offences following the crash.

These include two counts of failing to produce a document for inspection or device for inspection, permitting the use of heavy vehicles in contravention of standards, failing as a record keeper to ensure a driver gives required information, and two counts of not recording prescribed information.

The company, which is yet to enter pleas, is set to appear next month in Bega Local Court, where police will allege it committed 232 breaches of the heavy vehicle national law.

On Tuesday, Read’s lawyer, Tony Cullinan, told the court the case was a “complicated” one with many factors.

Mr Cullinan said he would need to spend “quite some time” with his client in order for the matter to move forward.

He asked the court to adjourn the matter to the same date Bega Concrete Tanks is set to appear, a request granted by magistrate Doug Dick.

Read will return to the Bega Local Court alongside his employer on August 13, when Mr Dick suggested pleas would be considered.

Bega Concrete Tanks has been contacted for comment regarding Read’s current employment status.

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