Corey Rapson’s family reveals agony, four years after fatal crash ordeal

Corey Rapson’s family says questions remain four years after his mate said she fainted behind the wheel, killing the budding tennis coach.

Corey Rapson’s dad Jim, sister Hayley and mum Susie are marking four years since his death in a car crash. Picture: Nigel Hallett

A family of a beloved son and brother killed in a car crash has been left shattered after prosecutors dropped charges against the woman behind the wheel.

Corey Rapson, 25, died four years ago on July 4 after he suffered horrific injuries when Angela Wilkes drove through a red light, across six lanes of traffic, in Windsor.

Despite initially pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death, Ms Wilkes has had the charge against her dropped after prosecutors accepted she fainted in the driver’s seat.

Now, after waiting three years for a court case that will no longer happen, the family of the tennis coach and staffer for MP Ben Carroll say they are left wondering, “where is the justice for us?”

“We can’t believe nothing has been done for us, even through restorative justice,” Corey’s mum Susie Rapson said.

Corey Rapson died in a Windsor car crash in 2018.

Susie knows prosecutors dropped the case against Ms Wilkes because “they can’t prove that she didn’t faint” — but the family says they still feel slighted by a process they believe has left them with no justice and few answers for why their son was lost in the most tragic of ways.

Jim, Corey’s dad, knows “you’ll probably sense our frustration”, but says that’s because “the way we’ve been treated, we feel like we’re the bad ones”.

Corey was two weeks out from travelling to the UK to coach tennis when he spent a winter’s day with Ms Wilkes in Brighton, watching the sunset at the beach and going for dinner, on June 10, 2018.

In the early hours, Ms Wilkes was driving Corey home to South Yarra when a witness saw them pull up at a red light on Hotham St at Dandenong Rd, about 1.30am.

But all of a sudden, the Citroen sedan inextricably moved forward against the red light.

The car drove across six lanes of traffic and tram tracks before it was hit by a ute and flung into a light pole.

Corey died 3½ weeks later at The Alfred hospital.

Corey Rapson was 25 when he died in the crash.

The tennis coach was two weeks from a UK trip.

Ms Wilkes, who hasn’t driven since the crash, says she had “no recollection of the accident”.

Her lawyer, Cameron Horn, confirmed she pleaded guilty “until medical evidence emerged”, then changed her plea, while the OPP discontinued the case last year “following an evaluation of the expert medical evidence”.

Mr Horn said the case was reviewed “by a number of very senior experts” including a Professor of Cardiology on the defence and a senior cardiologist for the prosecution.

“They agreed that Ms Wilkes fainted at the wheel,” he said.

“Ms Wilkes is devastated by the loss of Corey and impact of the accident on his loved ones and cannot imagine the loss of a son, brother and friend.”

But Corey’s younger sister Hayley, who idolised her big brother along with their older sibling Matt, remains unconvinced by the medical evidence.

“A stationary car cannot accelerate by itself, in a straight line through multiple lanes, red lights and tram lines,” she said.

Corey Rapson with his sister Hailey.

“A driver does not ‘faint’ without their front seat passenger responding.”

Despite bids at the OPP and the Coroner’s Court, the Rapson family believes they’re not going to get the apology or the recompense they feel is deserved.

“Everyone loved our Corey,” Susie says of her son, “he was a gentleman”.

But they’re thankful for kindness shown by Victoria Police, particularly Detective Shane Miles and Darren Williams, who always answered their calls during the four-year ordeal.

The Rapsons, from Canberra, are now dedicating their time to raising money for The Alfred’s head trauma centre, with Hayley and Corey’s cousin Lisa running the Gold Coast marathon at the weekend.

It’s a way they can honour Corey, the “kindest, nicest guy in the whole world”, and hope to make things better for another family going through a similar pain.

“These are the things that keep us going,” Susie said.