Inquest into the death of Georgina Serbec finds driver failed test two weeks earlier

An unaccompanied L-plater who mounted a kerb and ploughed into a 65-year-old woman at a Deer Park bus stop had recently failed her probationary driving test.

Grandmother Georgina Serbec died after she was struck by a car in Deer Park.

An unaccompanied L-plater who mowed down a Melbourne grandmother as she waited at a bus stop had failed a probationary driving test two weeks earlier.

A coronial probe into the death of Georgina Serbec, 65, heard she died after the learner driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lost control of her Toyota Corolla while doing a U-turn in Deer Park on February 12, 2016.

Ms Serbec was standing at the bus shelter on Billingham Rd just 500m from her home when the motorist mounted the kerb and ploughed into her.

Her family called for an inquest, asking the Coroner to look into how the driver, who was found to have the “cognitive level of a three-year-old”, was illiterate in all languages and couldn’t copy a square or triangle, had passed a learner’s permit exam.

Coroner Sarah Gebert on Thursday found the driver had rightfully earned the licence.

But the court heard the woman should have been accompanied by another driver at the time, and was unsuccessful in her driving test to graduate to P plates a fortnight earlier.

“The family’s primary concerns were the legitimacy of the driver-related tests … the possibility of weaknesses in Victoria’s licensing system, and the potential for future harm in the community,” Ms Gebert said.

“I was unable to find any systemic issues related to the death, and in those circumstances, there is no basis upon which to formulate any prevention recommendations in this matter.”

Department of Transport records obtained by the Coroner stated in 2010, the driver passed an eyesight and road law knowledge test at Sunshine VicRoads with the assistance of a Tigrinya interpreter.

In 2015, the driver achieved 61 per cent on a hazard perception test, a computer-based assessment which provides a scenario to see whether a driver can identify dangers on the road.

When asked by Ms Gebert if it was satisfied the driver legitimately passed the relevant tests, the department, in two statements, said it’s business records indicated she had “no doubt” taken the tests.

It asserted the layout of testing areas, steps taken to validate someone’s identity, CCTV and staggered testing times made it “impossible” for the driver to switch places with another person.

Ms Gebert said the transport department’s remarks indicate “no feasible theory” to suggest someone else swapped into the driver’s position for the tests.

The wishes of Ms Serbec’s children — Tania, Peter and Katherine — to pursue the inquest follows comments made by a County Court judge when sentencing the driver to a non-custodial supervision order in January 2019.

That judge suggested the offending motorist should “never have held a learner’s permit”.

“You should not be in a position where you have access to a motor vehicle, the keys to a motor vehicle, or anything that could place you behind the wheel,” the judge said.