Braitling MLA Joshua Burgoyne pleads guilty to careless driving at Stuart Highway intersection

An Alice Springs health worker has said she suffers from ongoing panic attacks months after Alice Springs politician Josh Burgoyne smashed into her ute on the Stuart Highway.

An Alice Springs health worker has described her ongoing dread and panic months after a Territory politician t-boned her ute in a dramatic highway crash.

Braitling MLA Joshua Burgoyne appeared in Darwin Local Court on Monday to plead guilty to one count of careless driving after smashing his LandCruiser into a 66-year-old woman’s ute on the Stuart Highway on August 26.

Judge Julie Franz heard that the Alice Springs politician failed to give way after leaving an evening event at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame on Norris Bell Avenue.

Burgoyne told police that he looked both ways while attempting to turn onto the Stuart Highway, but failed to spot the government-owned vehicle travelling along the 80km/h zone.

The politician slammed his car into the driver’s side of the ute, causing it to lose traction and smash into the curb, deflating three of its tyres.

Prosecutor Daniel Warner Collins said there was “extensive” damage to the ute, while the 66-year-old driver and her 50-year-old passenger were taken to hospital.

Six months after the crash, Mr Warner Collins said the driver still suffered from “severe” pain, “has difficulty standing for long periods of time” and was unable to fully return to work, instead working from home.

“(She) continues to have panic attacks in the presence of motor vehicles,” he said.

Mr Warner Collins said Burgoyne’s driving failed to demonstrate the “standard of care and attention” or caution expected of “competent drivers”.

“Roads can be deadly places and it’s the responsibility of all road users to drive in a manner that ensures accidents like this don’t happen,” he said.

However, defence lawyer Peter Maley said there was no suggestion of speeding, drugs, alcohol or fatigue, describing the crash as a “momentary lapse” at a “notorious” intersection.

Mr Maley said the 34-year-old politician’s high-profile had created its own form of punishment, with media coverage and speculation putting additional focus on the low-level driving charge.

Indeed outside of court Burgoyne appeared to imply that the charges against him were leaked to the media to have his “name dragged through the mud”.

The CLP politician said Labor’s Police Minister Brent Potter made a statement before he was served his court documents or even told his wife.

“He seemed to know more about the charges I’ll be facing than I did at that point,” Burgoyne said.

Mr Potter said Burgoyne‘s charges were widely reported in the media when he spoke about them, calling the accusation a “smoke and mirrors tactic to distract against his guilty conscience”.

“Josh seems more worried about conspiracy theories than ...the victims of his actions, which left one healthcare worker with ongoing panic attacks,” Mr Potter said.

Judge Julie Franz took into account the heightened media attention in her decision to not record a conviction, and instead imposed a $1650 fine.

“It’s not special treatment for a politician, and it’s something that is afforded to everyday citizens of this court (who) come to plead guilty at an early opportunity, have an excellent driving record and they’re just circumstances,” Ms Franz said.

After his non-conviction order was imposed Burgoyne told the media that he had not personally apologised, or sought to contact his victims in the six months since the crash.

“(But) obviously I unreservedly apologise for any harm that I’ve caused in regards to this matter,” he told the cameras outside of court.

“No one goes out wanting to be or be involved in an accident like this.”

Despite the Alice Springs politician telling the Darwin court he was in the Top End for “business”, Burgoyne said he would not be attending the Tuesday parliamentary sittings.

He denied he was “in hiding”, saying he needed to travel back to Alice Springs to attend the funeral of his best friend’s sister.

Originally published as Braitling MLA Joshua Burgoyne pleads guilty to careless driving at Stuart Highway intersection