Father who fled fatal Yatala crash has two charges struck out by court
A Logan father who fled a Gold Coast crash scene, leaving his dying three-year-old son behind, has had two charges struck out.
A Logan man who allegedly fled a car crash, with his dying three-year-old son inside the vehicle, has had two charges against him struck out after police did not offer evidence.
Beenleigh’s Samuel Ian Paterson was taken into custody after the October 25 crash at Yatala which left his son Caden Case in a critical condition.
Paterson and another person in the crumpled vehicle fled, leaving a passer-by to rush Caden and his mother to Beenleigh Police Station where Caden died from his injuries.
Paterson has not been charged with any offence in relation to the crash but was in jail for eight offences committed mainly on the Gold Coast between April 24 and June 15 last year.
They included four counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, committed against his partner, 22, and two counts of wilful damage.
He was also later charged with breaching bail and another charge related to his presence in the crashed vehicle.
Paterson appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court on October 27 in relation to those charges.
The court heard the woman had alleged, among other things, that Paterson held a gun to her head and threatened her.
But duty lawyer Shannon Fletcher said “the matrix of facts’’ was under dispute and that the police investigation into the traffic accident made no mention of a gun and cast doubt on the reliability of the woman.
Paterson was due to have appeared via videolink in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Wednesday, November 19, on the breach of bail and other charge.
However a police prosecutor did not offer evidence on those two charges. Paterson had not entered pleas.
Acting Magistrate Gary Finger therefore ordered the charges be struck out.
The court heard Paterson was still in custody on the other charges alleged committed against his partner.
Footage emerged after the crash of a shirtless, barefoot man similar to Paterson walking from the scene. He was arrested at a house in Beenleigh.
Police were still investigating but have said they believed Caden, his mother and another person drove to an address in Beenleigh from their home on the Gold Coast early on Saturday morning.
The woman’s Mazda was seen leaving the Beenleigh address about 4.50am before it crashed about 10 minutes later into bushland off Burnside Rd in Yatala.
Police said the boy’s 24-year-old father was also in the car but his partner was now believed to have been driving.
Operation Xray Grid was launched after the crash. It has included officers from the Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch, Child Protection and Investigation Unit and other specialist areas.
The complex three-week investigation included thorough forensic and mechanical inspections.
Detectives renewed an appeal to the public for any relevant information or vision.
Contact Policelink at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting or call 131 444, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersqld.com.au
Quote reference number: QP2501926449
Originally published as Father who fled fatal Yatala crash has two charges struck out by court
