Truck driver spoke of ‘fleeing to NT’ after alleged hit and run that killed six-year-old boy
Prosecutors say Allan Dyson presents a flight risk if released from custody, but his legal team says strict bail conditions would prevent him from running. Now, the NSW Supreme Court has had its say.
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An interstate truck driver charged with causing a horrific NSW crash that killed a young boy was allegedly recorded speaking to his partner about fleeing to the Northern Territory in the months leading up to his arrest, a court has heard.
Allan Michael Dyson, 59, was arrested in his home state of Queensland and extradited to Sydney in October this year, almost two decades after six-year-old Rian Strathadee was killed when his parents’ vehicle was hit by a truck while travelling along the Hume Highway at Sutton Forest.
Police will allege Dyson was behind the wheel of the prime mover when it rear-ended the Strathadee family’s Subaru station wagon on the evening of November 6, 2004, causing the car to roll several times and plunge 40 metres down an embankment into an adjoining paddock.
Rian died at the scene and two other passengers were badly injured.
Upon his arrest, Dyson was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and three counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct.
He was remanded in custody at the time but fronted the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday seeking bail.
Prosecutors opposed the application and it was ultimately refused by Justice Desmond Fagan.
The court heard police listening in on Dyson’s phone calls earlier this year allegedly recorded him speaking to his partner about “abandoning everything” and fleeing to a remote property in the NT.
He also allegedly told a friend during another recorded conversation “yeah they’ve got their facts pretty much right …. I’d say they’ll lock me up pretty much straight away”, allegedly referring to the police case against him.
Meanwhile, the court was told on the night of the crash, a witness overheard a man with an “Australian accent and a deep voice” say over a CBD radio “I have sorted out the Subaru driver, now they’re in the paddock.”
The court heard the identity of the speaker was not readily known, but a strong inference could be made it was the driver of the truck involved in the crash.
In arguing for bail, Dyson’s legal team said a trial would be unlikely to proceed until mid-2024, and that their client would agree to live with his partner at their home in Queensland and report to police daily if released on bail.
Dyson’s barrister also said two family members could lodge a substantial surety to ensure he turned up to court.
However, Justice Desmond Fagan refused to release Dyson, saying there was a real concern the former Goulburn resident would attempt to abscond or interfere with prosecution witnesses if released, given the apparent strength of the case against him.
“The intercepted phone conversations between the applicant and his partner from recent times, obtained under warrant, is strongly indicative that the applicant was the driver,” he said.
“The risk of flight … is significant. I also consider there is a significant risk of the applicant interfering with the testimony of witnesses in the case against him.”
The case will return to court next week for mention.
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