Grieving mother questions justice system with charges dropped after death of son, Jesse Alexander

It was a scene that no mother should ever witness – a blue tarp covering her son’s car. But now, a grieving mum has had to deal with a second blow, this time from the justice system.

Jesse Alexander, 18, died in November 2021 in a three-car crash at Brighton. Picture: Supplied

It was a scene that no mother should ever witness.

The date was November 27, 2021, and Rachael Geard was on her way home to Elderslie via Brighton after a trip to the shops.

When she saw the fallout of a three-car crash attended by police and paramedics, the mother-of-five boys thought the worst.

She hadn’t been able to contact her second-youngest son, Jesse Alexander, and frantically asked police if it was his car that was covered up with a blue tarp.

But Ms Geard was told to leave the scene and drive home via an alternate route.

Tragically, her fears were later confirmed – her 18-year-old “joy, pride and hope for the future” had died.

She ended up spending six hours at the scene, at the corner of Elderslie and Rodbourne roads – a location she can barely drive past now without feeling the overwhelming pain all over again.

Nearly three years have passed since that day, which have been torture for Ms Geard as she has patiently waited for her son’s case to wind through the justice system.

But she has now suffered an earth-shattering blow – with news the charges had been dropped against the driver who police had alleged caused her son’s death by negligent driving.

On Wednesday, the Mercury reported that all charges would be dropped, including a charge of driving without due care and attention, against 45-year-old Michael Vinko Jandric, who has since moved to Victoria. The matter has been officially withdrawn by prosecutors.

Ms Geard said she’d met with prosecutors just before Mr Jandric’s latest court hearing, and was told the charges would be dropped on the basis that Jesse was speeding, which was apparently new evidence not previously available.

Jesse Alexander, 18, right, died in November 2021 in a three-car crash at Brighton, Tasmania. Pictured with his mother Rachael Geard. Picture: Supplied

“Sometimes I can’t really talk about it, I just break down crying,” she said.

“There’s no justice out there for people in Jesse’s situation.”

Ms Geard said Jesse, who would have turned 21 on September 1, had been “really outgoing” with a love of the bush.

“His laughter filled our home, and his dreams guided us through our days,” she said.

“I cling to the hope that Jesse knew how deeply he was loved.”

Ms Geard said it was “deeply painful” to see the justice system did not reflect the gravity of the loss she and her family had endured – and urged prosecutors to reconsider.

She previously lodged an appeal with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) against the decision, but her request was knocked back.

The Department of Justice told the Mercury the DPP did not comment on individual cases, so was unable to provide any information as to why the charges had been dropped.

Jesse Alexander. Picture: Facebook

But in a letter from to Ms Geard, sighted by the Mercury, the DPP said a crash investigator found Jesse had been driving 170km/h in a 100km/h zone – and that the cause of the accident was not Mr Jandric but her son’s “extreme speed”.

For now, Ms Geard says she has been left with “no closure” – and a deep void in her life, despite having waited almost three years.

“It’s too long. It’s too long when you’re trying to get over the death of your own son,” she said.

“It’s very torturous.”

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