Toowoomba fatal: Man, 62, killed following three-vehicle collision

A young man has fronted court for the first time, after police alleged he was drunk and driving dangerously when he was involved in a three-vehicle collision that killed another man.

A 21-year-old Kingsthorpe man has been charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a 62-year-old man arising from a three-vehicle crash near Wellcamp.

Jayme Turl allegedly returned a breath/alcohol reading of more than three times the legal limit at the roadside following the crash on the Toowoomba Cecil Plains Road near the Acton Vale Stud Road intersection about 5.09pm Thursday, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told during a special court sittings on Australia Day.

Police prosecutor Tim Hutton said early indications were that Mr Turl was driving a blue Kia sedan west when he failed to properly negotiate a curve in the road with his car sliding sideways across the road into the path of a Holden Hyundai driven by the 62-year-old man who was heading eastbound.

The Hyundai rolled off the road while Mr Turl’s Kia continued to slide and into a third vehicle, a Holden Captiva, he said.

Sergeant Hutton said, fortunately, the driver of the Captiva sustained relatively minor injuries.

However, the 62-year-old man was unresponsive as he was removed from his vehicle and he was pronounced deceased at the scene at 5.43pm, he said.

Reading from the police report of the incident, Sgt Hutton said it was alleged Mr Turl had alighted from his vehicle after the crash and said he had been drinking.

Sgt Hutton said police noted cans of alcohol in Mr Turl’s vehicle and that during a subsequent roadside breath test conducted by police at the scene, Mr Turl had allegedly returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.154.

However, police would not be relying on that roadside reading but on a blood sample taken at the hospital which would take some weeks to be analysed, he said.

Mr Turl appeared in court via video link from the watch house on a number of charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, driving while under the influence of liquor or a drug, and driving while disqualified by court order.

He was not required to enter any pleas to the charges and sat quietly as duty solicitor Jag MacDonald, of MacDonald Law, applied for bail on his behalf.

Mr MacDonald said it was conceded that the Crown case was strong and, if convicted, his client could be looking at a head sentence of four to six years in jail.

However, Mr Turl was a father of two young children who lived with their mother in Oakey and he saw his children most days so he had significant ties to the Toowoomba region and was not a flight risk, he said.

Mr MacDonald said his client sought bail so he could sort out his affairs before the matters proceeded through the courts.

However, Magistrate Clare Kelly refused bail and remanded Mr Turl in custody to appear via video link from the prison when next the charges were mentioned back in the same court on March 15.

Ms Kelly directed that a police brief of evidence relating to the crash be disclosed to the defence by March 1.