Susan O’Brien case: Aussie charity worker jailed over teen’s crash death in Bali
An Australian woman who runs a school in Bali has been sentenced to prison over the tragic crash that caused the death of a teenage motorcyclist.
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Sydney charity worker Susan O’Brien has been sentenced to three months and 15 days in a Bali prison for killing a teenager in a road accident in August.
Susan Leslie O’Brien, 49 of Eastwood, was found guilty of one count of negligent driving causing the death of 19-year-old man Riski Akbar Putra.
Ms O’Brien has accepted the sentence, which has been reduced to include time served since her arrest in August.
Prior to being sentenced, the Negara District Court had heard that Ms O’Brien drove her car at 70kmh and overtook a truck on the road from Bali’s major transit hub from Java.
“I still remember August 14. The weather was sunny. I did not drink alcohol. Before overtaking the truck, I peeked out (but) there were no vehicles,” Ms O’Brien told the court.
She said that she repeatedly sounded the horn when she saw the motorbike.
“When I overtook the truck my car was next to the truck. There was a motorcycle (but) I couldn’t go back because I was too close. He should be able to avoid me. The victim can see my car, which is at a distance of about three metres,” she said.
The court heard from witness Mr Mohammad Bayu Ashar, a friend of the victim, who was riding ahead of Mr Akbar’s bike at the time of the accident.
“My friend did not have time to dodge. The car took our lane. Then I heard a crash behind me. I saw the victim lying on the road bleeding from the head and hands. The lady driving the car stopped and got out of the car,” Mr Ashar told the court.
Ms O’Brien has been visiting Bali for five years. She runs the Made Susan Education Centre teaching local children English and supports a dog sterilisation program. She finances these programs by making and selling candles and using her own funds.
The court heard that O’Brien has made unspecified ‘compensation’ to the victim’s family as well as writing a ‘peace’ letter, which the family has accepted.