A driver who killed five people in one of the state’s deadliest crashes in more than a decade will be eligible to seek parole in three years.
Christopher Dillon Joannidis, 30, was on his way to a friend’s wedding on April 20, 2023, when his Mercedes-Benz crashed into Cobram woman Debbie Markey’s Nissan Navara and a fully laden B-double milk tanker at Strathmerton in Victoria’s north about 2.20pm.
The scene after the crash.Credit: The Age
Joannidis’ passenger and partner, Eleanor Theeboom, survived the crash.
Markey had been driving four international visitors on working visas – Pin-Yu Wang, Hsin-Yu Chen, Wai Yan Lam and Zih-Yao Chen – home from work at an abattoir. All five were killed.
Shortly before the crash, police had intercepted Joannidis and issued him with a speeding ticket for driving at 118km/h in a 100km/h zone.
They also warned him of the region’s “horrific” road toll, before he continued on his drive towards the wedding, where he had been due to be best man.
Christopher Dillon Joannidis and partner Eleanor Theebom arrive at the County Court last November.Credit: AAP
Joannidis pleaded guilty to five counts of dangerous driving causing death, after failing to give way at the intersection of the Murray Valley Highway and Labuan Road. At the time of the crash, it was described as the deadliest motor vehicle incident in the state in more than a decade.
Dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ jail for each count.
County Court judge Gavan Meredith said the victim impact statements from family members and friends of those who died were a tragic testimony as they spoke of their overwhelming sadness, emptiness and hopelessness.
Meredith said Joannidis’ offending was “not merely an example of momentary inattention”, as he had ignored multiple warning signs and rumble strips before reaching the intersection.
Friends told Nine News that Debbie Markey loved animals and cared deeply for her family and friends.Credit: Facebook
Joannidis appeared upset as Meredith recounted the incident that led to the deaths on a straight section of road in fine weather.
The court heard Joannidis had no criminal history and was remorseful, and that if he could, he would turn back time.
After the crash, he told a psychologist, “I wish it was me that had died.”
He had been regularly consuming alcohol from the age of 14, and had been drinking to help cope with flashbacks of the collision, the court was told. Joannidis has a history of poor mental health, suffers from severe obsessive compulsive disorder and is intermittently suicidal.
Family members of some of the victims who were in Australia on working visas watched the sentencing remotely from Hong Kong and Taiwan with the help of interpreters.
Joannidis, dressed in a blue suit, whispered “I love you” to his family as he was led away from the courtroom and into custody.
A spokesperson for the Office of Public Prosecutions said: “All sentences imposed in cases prosecuted by this office are reviewed as a matter of course.”
In May 2023, this masthead revealed police had sounded the alarm about the stretch of road more than a year before the deadly crash.
Pin-yu Wang was killed alongside Markey and three other overseas workers in the crash.
The Department of Transport and the Moira Shire Council were told that signage at the intersection in Strathmerton was inadequate and handed a list of recommended improvements after a February 2022 site visit.
Joannidis was sentenced to 5½ years’ jail with a non-parole period of three years.
He will be eligible to seek parole in 2028.
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