Alleged driver involved in Cranbourne double-fatal charged with more than 40 offences
The young man allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car before a shocking double-fatal crash in Cranbourne has told police he was on a cocktail of drugs, a court has heard.
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A driver accused of killing two of his mates in a horror crash at Cranbourne told police he had taken a cocktail of ice, cannabis and alcohol, court documents reveal.
A police summary released by the court outlines Dylan Cassidy’s alleged crime spree on Sunday, starting with an aggravated burglary at 6am in Frankston, where the Holden Commodore was stolen, and ending in the tragic crash at 4pm. It also shows Mr Cassidy, 20, has never held a driver’s licence and was on bail at the time.
The Frankston man faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with culpable driving causing the deaths of Byron Hampton, 16, and Jordy Kirkwood, 18.
Dakoda Nicholson, 17, who was sitting beside the pair on the back seat, remains in a critical condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Her boyfriend, Jack Ledlin, 18, was in the front passenger seat and avoided serious injury. He has been charged over the theft of the vehicle.
The summary alleges Mr Cassidy “left his friends for dead” following the South Gippsland Hwy crash, trying to dispose of a plastic bottle of GHB and a ziplock bag of ice in a nearby bin as he fled on foot.
Witnesses followed him and held him until police arrived.
Inside the car, police allegedly found loot believed to be from a series of aggravated burglaries.
Mr Cassidy sat quietly in the dock during his brief administrative hearing to set out dates for his case.
His lawyer, Bernie Balmer, told the court his client was withdrawing from ice, and would not apply for bail.
Mr Cassidy is accused of stealing the car in Frankston, then, at noon, he was allegedly caught on CCTV driving into a carpark in an industrial area of Somerville and swapping its number plates.
Four hours later, police allege he lost control of the car while speeding, becoming airborne as he hit a median strip, before colliding with an oncoming car containing a mother and two children, aged 9 and 6.
The young family was not seriously injured.
Mr Cassidy faces 19 charges over the deadly crash, including two of culpable driving, dangerous driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury.
Police have also charged him with another 40 offences relating to car thefts, aggravated burglaries, criminal damage and arson committed over the past two months.
Mr Cassidy was remanded to reappear on January 9.
TEEN INVOLVED IN TRAGIC CRANBOURNE SMASH BAILED
A teenager who allegedly stole a vehicle involved in a horror smash at Cranbourne has been freed on bail.
Bail was granted to Jack Ledlin, 18, just hours after his father, Anthony, was arrested on outstanding warrants at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning. He has been remanded.
The court heard the teenager must live at a Somers address with his sister and father and not leave the house between 8pm and 6am.
He was ordered not to contact any witnesses to the prosecution, including his girlfriend, Dakoda, who was seriously injured in the August 11 smash.
Ledlin is also banned from getting into a car without a fully licensed driver and was told he must answer police at the front door and obey all directions from youth justice officers.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said Ledlin had been through “significant events” in the last three, four days.
“And you need help in respect to each and every part of this,” he said.
“Do not do anything that’s self destructing … stay at home, be respectful of your sister and the department.”
On Tuesday, Ledlin cried and made the threat to set fire to the court if he didn’t get to see his girlfriend.
Ledlin, from Baxter, faced seven charges — trespassing with intent to steal (armed with baseball bat), attempted theft of a motor vehicle, possessing prohibited weapon — knuckle dusters and giving police a false name, recklessly causing injury, assault with a baseball bat and unlawful assault — all on March 28 — and theft in Cranbourne of a Holden Commodore on August 11.
HERO DAD HAUNTED BY SURVIVOR’S SCREAMS
The teenager who had her “little life shattered” in the Cranbourne crash is fighting for life in hospital as her family thanks a stranger who came to her aid.
Dakoda Nicholson, 17, suffered critical spinal injuries in the crash that killed two of her friends on Sunday and saw her boyfriend put behind bars on Tuesday.
Her aunt Donna Nicholson described the teen as a stunning and funny young woman.
“I’m shattered, absolutely shattered,” she said.
“She is the funniest, most vibrant girl. She’s stunning. Her little life is now shattered.”
The Nicholson family was rallying around the girl from Frankston North, who remains at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
It brought the family some solace to know Dakoda was being looked after by a father of three who rushed in to help the teen.
“God bless him,” Ms Nicholson said.
Supply chain manager Peter Hooper was at the McDonald’s on the South Gippsland Highway when he saw accident unfold about 4pm on Sunday.
Without a second thought, he sprinted to the cars, stopped traffic and searched for survivors.
“I found Dakoda hanging out of the car,” Mr Hooper told the Herald Sun. “She was trapped.
“She was screaming and she was talking to me.”
The Cranbourne East dad spoke with her and kept her as calm as he could.
The bodies of her friends were still in the crumpled wreckage beside her while the father assessed her injuries and made a plan to get her out.
He acted quickly because petrol was pooling under the vehicle.
He stayed by her side until emergency services took over.
“On Sunday night, I did not sleep,” Mr Hooper told the Herald Sun.
“It was Dakoda’s scream that was running through my head.
“I just want Dakoda’s family to know she was looked after. We did all we could.”
The 17-year-old was in a critical condition after the crash and has improved slightly since.
The Cranbourne East father said he acted off a mixture of instinct and training.
It was not until the victims had been taken away in ambulances that he had a chance to stop and reflect.
“First aid training helps you know what to do in the situation but they don’t tell you what to do after the situation,” he said.
“It wasn’t until afterwards that I sat back and thought, ‘I just dealt with dead bodies’.”
His wife and three children, aged 17, 14, 11, watched on from the restaurant as Mr Hooper worked to save the teenager.
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Her boyfriend Jack Ledlin, 18, appeared in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after being charged with stealing the car.
He cried and made the threat to set fire to the court if he didn’t get to see his girlfriend, who Mr Hooper helped.
Ledlin, from Baxter, faced seven charges including the theft of the Holden Commodore involved in the crash on August 11.
A family in another car — a 39-year-old Lynbrook woman and two girls, aged 6 and 9 — was treated for injuries.