Shepparton man Abdul Fatah Faizi fronts court after fatal crash

A Shepparton man allegedly failed to navigate a curve in a road near Euroa which led to a fatal crash, after passing a series of road signs that “made no sense”.

A Shepparton man is charged with dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving and careless driving following a fatal crash at Gooram on July 9, 2023.

A Shepparton motorist whose mate was killed when he crashed into a tree in a country road in the state’s north “can’t be expected to know every bend in every single road” a court has heard.

Abdul Fatah Faizi, 52 fronted the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on charges of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving and careless driving on Thursday and Friday for a committal.

He was driving a ute that ran off the road and down an embankment where the road curves on Euroa-Mansfield Rd, Gooram, about 10.20pm on July 9, 2023.

The car hit one tree head-on before travelling another 30m down the embankment to come to a stop against a different tree, the court heard.

Passenger Eid Mohammad Enam Khail, 59, died after being flown from Gooram to Melbourne in a critical condition, while Mr Faizi and another man were rescued by emergency services and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Leading Senior Constable Lindon Walker gave evidence that a module inside airbags records five seconds of data before they go off, including speed, steering and brakes.

A ute crashed down an embankment on Euroa-Mansfield Rd, Gooram, killing a passenger and injuring two others in 2023.

Leading Senior Constable Walker told the court three seconds before the airbags go off the ute was travelling at a consistent speed, the driver attempted to brake and steer following the curve but reacted too late to be able to do so safely.

Defence lawyer Amie Hancock said a chevron sign, a bright yellow sign with a black arrow to guide drivers around curves, was a “crucial” sign that was missing from that curve.

The court heard there were three chevron signs at the curve but the second one had fallen over and could not be seen.

“At best that creates confusion, at worst it looks like the road goes straight, then you add night-time plus evidence of some fog,” she said.

The court heard Mr Faizi was unfamiliar with the road.

The court heard there had been two other accidents at the same curve in the road in May and November 2023, both caused by drivers failing to navigate the curve.

By December 1, 2023 the speed zone of the road had been reduced to 60km/h and the chevron sign had been replaced.

At the time the speed zone was 100km/h and the court heard there was an advisory 60km/h sign 85m from the curve.

Abdul Faizi fronted the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court following a fatal crash at Gooram on July 9, 2023.

Ms Hancock said Mr Faizi was travelling 5km/h below the speed limit before the crash.

Prosecuting barrister Nikolas Barron said there were a series of indicators that drivers needed to cut their speed leading into that curve including a ‘windy roads next 6km’ sign and an advisory speed sign.

He said while one was entitled to do the speed limit it did not solely determine if driving was dangerous, but conditions such a darkness, fog and unfamiliarity with the road needed to be considered.

Mr Barron said it should be up to a jury to decide if the signs leading into the curve provided sufficient information to drivers.

Magistrate Olivia Trumble said all the evidence suggested Mr Faizi was a conscientious driver.

She said it made “no sense” that the road indicated drivers could go 100km/h on a road when Leading Senior Constable Walker said it was only safe to navigate that particular curve at 82km/h.

“People are not infallible and can’t be expected to know every bend in every single road,” she said.

Ms Trumble said there was no evidence of pre-accident “dangerousness” and that Mr Faizi had “nothing in his system”.

The matter was adjourned to April 16 and Mr Faizi’s bail was extended.