Oudom Doeun fronts court after horror Caulfield South crash

A unlicensed hoon who was over the limit after a drink with a mate reached speeds of up to 213km/h before he ploughed into a car at an intersection, killing a Glen Huntly couple.

A killer driver who took his aunty’s BMW for a high speed spin, reaching speeds of 213km/h before he collided with a couple in a horror fatal has asked a judge for leniency, a court has heard.

Oudom Seney Doeun, 25 from Ashwood, pleaded guilty in the County Court in July to two charges of culpable driving causing death and one of recklessly causing injury and appeared for further plea on Friday.

Doeun got behind the wheel of a BMW that belonged to his aunt’s company with his mate Youthtakak Mam in the front passenger seat after consuming red wine during dinner. Doeun told his mate he was feeling “a bit down” and the two decided to go to Green Point near Brighton Beach.

Fireys heard the collision from their station and raced to the scene of a horrific crash that claimed the lives of Nepalese couple Santosh Adhikari and Pratima Thapa Adhikari. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Witnesses were shocked at the speed Doeun was driving on North Rd and Mr Mam warned him the light at the intersection had turned red, before he T-boned a Honda being driven by Glen Huntly couple Santosh Adhikari and Pratima Thapa Adhikari at the intersection of North Rd and Thomas St in Caulfield South at 10.38pm on May 15, 2023.

Doeun, who was unlicensed at the time, later recorded a breath reading of 0.016.

Doeun’s lawyer Phillip Dunn described the offending as a “short burst of criminal behaviour” for which Doeun had pleaded guilty.

A Cambodian national, he said Doeun had no family support in Melbourne and would be deported after serving his sentence.

Doeun’s extended family, including his father who travelled from Cambodia, were in court on Friday.

The mangled wreck of the Honda sedan in which Nepalese couple Santosh Adhikari and Pratima Thapa Adhikari were in when they were killed.

Court documents stated the Nepalese couple, who worked at a retirement village in Brighton, died at the scene while Doeun and his mate managed to exit the BMW before collapsing on a grass verge.

They were both taken to The Alfred hospital.

Nearby firefighters heard the collision and immediately ran out to assist. One firefighter drove a fire truck out to stop the flow of traffic while other emergency services were on their way.

Prior to the crash, two motorists travelling along North Rd observed with shock as their car was overtaken by the speeding BMW while another witness pulled over and called 000 after the crash. Police investigations revealed that five seconds before the impact, the BMW was travelling at 190km/h which increased to 213km/h one second prior to the crash.

Doeun will be sentenced on September 20.