Adem Arpaci found guilty over drag race deaths on EJ Whitten bridge
A MELBOURNE man has been found guilty after a drag race in Melbourne’s north ended in a fireball and the deaths of two people.
Law & Order
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A HOON has been found guilty of killing two people during a drag race on the EJ Whitten bridge.
Adem Arpaci was this afternoon found guilty of two counts of culpable driving causing the deaths of Harley Churchill and girlfriend Ivana Clonaridis, who died in a fireball on the Western Ring Rd in the early hours of January 27, 2016.
The jury verdict has come as a relief to the victims families, who had to endure two trials after an earlier jury failed to reach a verdict.
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DELAHEY MAN CHARGED OVER FATAL DRAG RACE AT EJ WHITTEN BRIDGE
Police say Mr Arpaci, who was driving with a deflated tire, baited the driver into the deadly race after attending a series of illegal burnout gatherings in Melbourne’s north.
He pleaded not guilty to two charges of culpable driving, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The court heard Mr Churchill had also been at the “Northern Skids” that night and was on his way home when he embarked on the deadly race.
Experts believe Mr Churchill had clocked 182km/h when his back, driver’s side tyre exploded.
The teenager had only hours earlier had his mechanic mate change his usual tyres to the “ordinary” type in anticipation of the night’s festivities at the skids.
He didn’t stand a chance when the tyre blew as he tried to overtake a truck on approach to the EJ Whitten Bridge.
A CCTV camera from a nearby home showed the night sky turn to day as Mr Churchill’s car exploded.
The jury heard witnesses claimed Mr Arpaci had been desperate to race and had baited other drivers as they returned home from the skids.
One witness told a jury last year that Mr Arpaci pulled up along side his car and accelerated and slowed down in an effort to instigate a race.
Another witness claimed he tried to prompt a race by revving his engine at the traffic lights on Pascoe Vale Rd near the entrance to the Western Ring Rd.
Police claim Mr Churchill unwisely took the bait.
Mr Arpaci, in his 2005 Ford XR6, and Mr Churchill, in a Holden ute, were seen “flying” down the highway side-by-side in the moments before the crash.
The jury heard Mr Churchill tried to correct his vehicle before it slammed through a barrier and exploded as it rolled down a 55-metre cliff towards the Maribyrnong River.
Arpaci will return to court for a plea hearing at a later date