Brayden Eve pleads guilty to driving without due care and attention before Surfers Paradise crash
The fallout of a crash that left a motorcyclist with potentially life-threatening injuries has been aired in court, as another man pleads guilty to his role in the collision.
Police & Courts
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A man has blamed a momentary lapse of concentration for a crash at a central Gold Coast intersection that left a motorcyclist with potentially life-threatening injuries.
Brayden Charles Eve was behind the wheel of a Toyota HiLux that turned in front of an oncoming motorbike at the intersection of Ferny and Ocean Aves at Surfers Paradise on the evening of February 3.
Photographs from the scene show a man – seemingly the motorcyclist – on the ground being assisted by bystanders, with shattered glass strewn across the road and damage to the passenger side of the four-wheel drive.
Southport Magistrates Court was told the 41-year-old motorcyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries including a large cut on his neck near the carotid artery and a broken pelvis.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Karen Friedrichs said Eve remained at the scene to assist police, telling officers he “did not even see” the victim on his motorcycle, only the car behind him.
The motorcyclist – who was working as a delivery driver at the time – had since undergone multiple surgeries for the broken pelvis and had another one scheduled next year, the court was told.
“Since the accident, he has not been able to return to the job that he previously held … (or) replace his motorbike as he can no longer ride due to ongoing pain that he suffers through his leg,” Sergeant Friedrichs said.
“He is able to drive a (car), and for him that feels safer.”
Sergeant Friedrichs said 19-year-old Eve’s car was later found to have several defects – including faulty brakes and steering components – but it did not appear they contributed to the crash.
Eve was supported in court by his partner, who was in the passenger seat during the collision, it was heard.
His lawyer James Treanor, of Quinn Law Group, said his client pleaded guilty on the basis it was a momentary lapse in concentration that saw him turn in front of the motorcycle.
Mr Treanor said Eve had experienced nightmares since the crash, and submitted the absence of a Forensic Crash Unit report meant other factors contributing to the crash or the injuries sustained may not have been explored.
Magistrate Nerida Wilson said the “inevitability” of the collision was clear from dashcam photographs from the car travelling behind the motorcycle, which showed the traffic lights turn orange moments before the crash.
Eve pleaded guilty to driving without due care or attention causing grievous bodily harm.
He was fined $2000 and disqualified from driving for six months. He was also ordered to pay $500 in compensation to the victim.
No conviction was recorded.