Frankston truckie Rory Keats pleads guilty in County Court to Boxing Day Coldstream fatality
A Frankston truck driver “self medicated” with ice prior to tragic crash on Boxing Day in Coldstream that left a woman dead.
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A Frankston truckie will face time behind bars over a fatal Boxing Day smash in Coldstream which left one woman dead and two men in hospital.
Rory Keats, 44, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Thursday to two counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury and one count of dangerous driving causing death.
The plea hearing revealed Keats had been diagnosed with stimulant use disorder, where he had been self medicating with alcohol and methamphetamines to treat other mental health symptoms at the time of the fatal crash.
The prosecution, however, told the court they did not rely on his diagnosis or use of the drug in their evidence.
In a full psychological report, Keats also received diagnoses for autism, anxiety and depression.
On Thursday, Keats’ lawyer said he suffered with “feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness and excessive guilty” which he experienced “nearly every day”.
Keats was driving a truck through Coldstream on Boxing Day in 2023 when he collided with a car.
Three passengers were in the car at the time of the collision, which left a 62-year-old woman from Tranmere in South Australia dead.
One 62-year-old Essendon man was rushed to hospital with critical injuries and a 63-year-old man from South Australia was also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Mr Keats was not injured in the tragic smash and stopped to assist emergency services at the scene.
The court heard the maximum prison sentence for dangerous driving causing death was 10 years behind bars.
Keats was remanded into custody on Thursday and will return to the County Court on May 16 to be sentenced.
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