Billy-Jo Salter: No 'remorse' as driver who killed Wedderburn man sentenced

A distracted driver who moved down a "remarkable" blind pedestrian and his dog in a horror Wedderburn crash showed "no remorse" as he was sentenced in court. 

The killer of a “remarkable” blind man has been blasted by a judge for his refusal to tell the truth as she jailed him for three years and nine months in Bendigo on Thursday.

Billy-Jo Salter repeatedly clutched his chest and hung his head as Judge Rosemary Carlin said he had failed to show any remorse for the death of Raymond Meadows on June 2, 2019.

“The reason the crash occurred is known only to you,” she said.

“You have refused to tell the truth about what happened and destroyed the only evidence that may have shed light on the matter.”

Mr Meadows, a well-known member of the small rural town of Wedderburn, and his guide dog were struck by the car around 6.30am as they made their daily walk into town.

Despite wearing high-visibility safety gear, the 62-year-old and his dog, Gerry, were thrown south along Calder Highway by the impact and suffered fatal injuries.

Raymond Meadows and his guide dog Gerry, who he was given just two months before the accident.

After the crash, Salter, 23 of Tallygaroopna, panicked, flagging down a car and telling them: “I think I’ve killed someone, I think I hit someone on a bike”.

That early morning incident launched a year-long police investigation which methodically untangled a web of lies spun by the then 21-year-old and involved the crash being recreated with an identical car by experts outside Mr Meadows 10.5 acre property.

Salter faced the County Court on Thursday for sentencing after pleading guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death and wilfully destroying “highly incriminating” evidence.

Prosecutor David Glynn said the investigation would have progressed faster if not for the lies Salter told police to “try to cover his tracks”.

Salter's hired Toyota Corolla was damaged in the June 2,2019 crash.

On that fateful day, Mr Glynn said the P-plater had been awake the whole night with friends at a house in Wedderburn before deciding to make the 30km drive home to Inglewood.

He dismissed a warning from a friend not to drive, instead telling her: “I will be fine”.

But just minutes later he slammed into Mr Meadows at 94km/h.At the scene of the crash, he told police Mr Meadows “had just appeared in the middle of the road” and it was impossible to avoid him.

This was contradicted by data from his hired Toyota Corolla which showed Salter had made no steering inputs in the five seconds before the crash and the expert testimony that this would have resulted in the car driving on the shoulder of the road.

Salter removed the SD card from his dashcam and hid it in his pants, telling investigators there was no recording of the crash.A few days later he “persuaded” a friend to destroy the card.

Raymond Meadows. Picture: Facebook

Both Mr Meadows daughter, Kristen Evans and his widow Alma Meadows attended the court hearing to read victim impact statements.

Mrs Meadows described hearing the crash from their home and rushing outside to find her husband lying on the road, waiting for an air ambulance, and Gerry dead nearby.

“I have so much hurt and anger inside, asking why this happened to such a fit and healthy person,” she said.

“The emptiness in my heart will remain forever, I can forgive most things but I’ll never forgive you for what you have done,” she told Salter.

Salter’s lawyer, David Gibson, said the defence accepted the prosecution’s account of what happened, but maintained he did not see Mr Meadows until the moment of impact.

He said Salter’s “erratic actions” in the hours, days, weeks and months after the crash could be explained by his diagnosis with autism-spectrum disorder and his mental and emotional challenges.

Judge Carlin said she was left in the position where the cause of the crash was “simply not known”.

“Your actions after the fact impeded the investigation and denied Mr Meadows’ family the opportunity to gain closure,” she said.

Salter was led from the courtroom by court officers after she sentenced him to three years and nine months imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of two years and three months.

He was also disqualified from driving for four years.