Brenton Brown fronts court over a string of serious driving charges

Two months after a Morwell man was wounded in a mysterious shooting, he caused the death of a Moe woman in a crash and fled the scene.

Morwell man Brenton Brown caused the death of 59-year-old Carol-anne Jones during a two-vehicle collision in Tanjil South.

A man with a shocking driving history left a beloved community identity trapped inside her vehicle after a collision and ran on to neighbouring properties to seek help, a court has heard.

Morwell man Brenton Brown pleaded guilty in the County Court at Latrobe Valley on Tuesday to charges of dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop after an accident, failing to render assistance, commit an offence while on bail, driving while disqualified and driving an unregistered vehicle.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 10.

Brown, 31, with an appalling driving history, caused the death of 59-year-old Moe resident Carol-anne Jones who was flown to The Alfred where she died 17 days later.

Despite being a disqualified driver, Brown got behind the wheel of a Nissan Patrol and was driving along Purvis Rd in Tanjil South about 4.30pm on May 2, 2023.

Carol-anne Jones died 17 days after a Nissan Patrol driven by Brenton Brown collided with her vehicle in Tanjil South.

He crossed the centre line on a slight left curve and the Nissan Patrol collided with an oncoming Hyundai hatch, driven by Ms Jones.

Her vehicle rotated clockwise and stopped at the intersection at Lakeview Place while the Nissan Patrol travelled 550m east along Purvis Rd, onto a grass verge and into a wire fence.

While Ms Jones was trapped in her vehicle with life-threatening injuries, Brown ran on to a neighbouring property before calling the owner of the Nissan Patrol who reported to police that his vehicle had been stolen.

Brown then ran on to another property, told the home owner what had happened and asked him to call 000 but the latter couldn’t find his mobile phone.

Brown requested him to drive to the crash scene from where he collected his identification cards from the Nissan Patrol before he was dropped off ain Newborough.

Two months prior to the crash, Brown was wounded in a mysterious shooting and presented himself at Latrobe Valley Hospital.

He did not report the matter to police and did not co-operate with officers inquiring into what happened to him.

Powerful victim impact statements were read out in court on Tuesday on behalf of Ms Jones elderly parents who spoke about how their daughter’s loss has impacted their day-to-day chores like attending to the doctors, shopping or house work that she often helped with.

Carol-anne Jones was flown to The Alfred with life-threatening injuries and died 17 days after the collision.

Ms Jones would always prioritise her parents and would visit them five times a week despite her busy schedule, the court heard.

Her father no longer went on bush walks, enjoyed gardening, photography or watching his favourite TV programmes that he used to with her.

Ms Jones would also take them to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show every year but they no longer attend the event.

Every Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays and Christmas was tough not having her at the table to enjoy with the rest of the family.

Brown apologised to Ms Jones’ family and said he regretted his actions every day.