Wayne Klingberg found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after co-worker Willyam Tiedemann killed in horror crash
A former CFS volunteer has been cleared of killing his co-worker in a horror crash while high on prescription drugs, but found guilty of a lesser charge.
A drowsy driver on sedative prescription medication has been cleared of killing his co-worker in a horror crash in the state’s Mid North.
Former CFS volunteer Wayne Klingberg, 58, was found not guilty of causing his colleague Willyam Tiedemann’s death by dangerous driving at the conclusion of his District Court trial.
The Freeling man was, however, found guilty of aggravated due care by Judge Emily Telfer on Friday.
In 2022, Klingberg – at that time a DBT Security employee – had left home with Mr Tiedemann, 62, to go to a job, but only made it about 20km down the road before his Hyundai rolled several times.
The car landed in a southerly direction on its roof, and Mr Tiedemann suffered significant head injuries during the crash before he was later pronounced dead.
Prosecutor Kos Lesses alleged dashcam, taken from Klingberg’s vehicle, showed him veering across Owen Rd, just outside Hamley Bridge, as many as 26 times before the crash.
Klingberg, Mr Lesses alleged, was under the influence of a mixture of five different prescription drugs – including one used to treat insomnia.
He did not test positive to alcohol or any illicit substances.
Those drugs, the court heard, had left Klingberg in a “lethargic” state – with dashcam footage capturing his fatigue on at least 20 different instances.
“On a couple of occasions, the accused makes comments like ‘whoops, there’s some bumps there’, or ‘gosh, look where I’m driving’ – statements which we say prove his self awareness of his poor driving,” Mr Lesses said.
“On another occasion, when the vehicle veers over to the left side of the road and appears to go over a pothole, the accused cautions himself with the remark ‘watch the road Wayne’.”
The 21-minute long footage, starting at Klingberg’s home and ending at the moment of impact, was played to the court in July in front of a visibly emotional defendant.
“Still waking up are you?” Mr Tiedemann is heard asking Klingberg during the drive.
“Yeah. I’ll stop in Balaklava and buy an energy drink,” Klingberg replies.
Moments later, Klingberg appears to lose control of his Hyundai Terracan, before overcorrecting and ultimately flipping the vehicle.
On Friday, Judge Telfer remanded Klingberg on continuing bail to return to court in February for submissions.
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Originally published as Wayne Klingberg found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after co-worker Willyam Tiedemann killed in horror crash
