A Transperth bus driver will forever be haunted by a momentary lapse of concentration, a Perth court has been told, as he was sentenced over the death of a beloved father and husband killed while crossing the road outside RAC Arena last month.
Rajiv, 37, was driving an empty, out-of-service bus along Wellington Street about 6.15pm on June 20 in “abysmal” road conditions after heavy rain when he turned right onto Milligan Street – an intersection his lawyer labelled “an accident waiting to happen”.
The Transperth driver was charged with two counts of careless driving after one man died and another person was injured while he was behind the wheel.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt
The driver was taking notice of the hazards in front of him, the court was told, when a separate Transperth bus gave way to him, allowing Rajiv to continue through the green light to Milligan Street.
But a “black spot” which he says was caused by the bus’ large mirrors meant he did not see 45-year-old Praveen Matcha and a colleague crossing the intersection “lawfully” on a flashing red signal.
Rajiv’s lawyer Katherine Dowling told the court it was a “confluence of coincidences”, compounded by the fact that Matcha and his friend could be seen on footage taken from the second bus wearing dark clothing, on a dark night with poor visibility, angling a dark umbrella in Rajiv’s direction.
Praveen Matcha was killed after he was hit by a bus outside RAC Arena in June.
Matcha was hit by the bus and fell to the ground before the bus continued to drive over him. He died from his injuries at the scene.
Matcha’s friend was also struck and fell to the floor but received minor injuries to his elbow that required stitches.
“The careless driving charge, in some ways, is the most challenging,” Dowling told Magistrate Ben Tyers.
“That bar of due care and attention is such a low bar and I don’t think there’s a single driver in this room that can say they have driven with all due care and attention at all times.”
The court was told Rajiv, a father of two young children, immediately stopped the vehicle to render assistance to the victims before calling authorities himself.
The scene of the incident on June 20.
Dowling said the incident had a “profound effect” on Rajiv and his family, and he was struggling with feelings of “shame and guilt”.
“He is distraught by this and will continue to feel the impact of that momentary decision,” she said.
But prosecutors said that as a professional driver with no passengers distracting him, Rajiv should have paid better attention to the road, and he “failed to keep the community safe”.
In sentencing him, Tyers said the incident should not be called an accident, but “an avoidable tragedy”.
“You are a professional driver,” he said.
“Perhaps it is not a very well set up intersection, but it was an intersection you would have been well versed in.
“You ought to have been alive to that danger. The same can be said of the poor road conditions.
“These people were simply crossing the road. It’s unfortunate that you simply did not see them.”
Tyers said no sentence could “put a value” on Matcha’s life and said a fine was “wholly inadequate”.
Rajiv was sentenced to a total term of 11 months in prison that was suspended for two years.
He also had his licence suspended and will no longer be able to work as a bus driver.
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